tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44164802782510971202024-03-05T00:59:57.424-05:00Formula One's Greatest RacesUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-28260291615814418702019-02-12T11:58:00.000-05:002019-02-12T14:45:36.896-05:001990 San Marino Grand Prix - Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>May 13, 1990</i></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">B</span>y his own
admission it was not a story that Riccardo Patrese liked much to remember. It was a certain race victory, lost due to a
lack of concentration and a simple mistake. “Imola in 1983 was a race I should
have won. I led, then my pitstop was slow and Patrick Tambay’s Ferrari went
ahead. Six laps to go, I get the lead back. And then I relax a little, I say to
myself, OK, I have won this Grand Prix. At the Aqua Minerale corner the surface
was breaking up, I put a wheel a few centimetres off-line, and I crash. There
were many races when I was in the lead, when the car broke down. But in this case I had a crash that was
purely my mistake. You were going to win …… and then you lose and you know that
it’s all on your shoulders. You made a mistake.
It’s even harder to accept.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>1983 San Marino GP: Patrese crashes shortly after assuming the lead.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As difficult as
this was to face his mistake, there was another element of this failure that
twisted the knife a little deeper into Patrese’s heart.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“The <i>tifosi</i>
cheered: they prefer a Frenchman to win in a Ferrari than an Italian to win in
any other car. I was so angry with myself I didn’t hear them cheering. But I saw it on TV when I got home, and it
made me feel even worse.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And while the Italian
was able to secure a victory later that season in South Africa, the loss in
Imola was a wound that Patrese would carry for seven years. He spent two seasons driving the hopeless Euroracing
Alfa Romeo followed by another stint with Brabham. Towards the end of the 1987 season, when
Bernie Ecclestone decided to give up being a team boss, he recommended Patrese to
Frank Williams. “When I went to Williams it was like a camera which had finally
come into focus.” He was very well liked
within the team and had an excellent rapport with Patrick Head. His cause was also aided by the fact that he
was much easier to live with then Nigel Mansell and more of a team player as
well. “You’d call Riccardo up,” Head would recall “ask him to test at a moment’s
notice, and he’d say, ‘Fine. No problem. I’ll be there’. He’s not a selfish
man, that’s the point, which is quite rare in a racing driver. His ego’s under
control, too. Which is also quite rare.”
The relationship with the Williams team was to be the most productive of
the Italian’s career.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Riccardo Patrese 1990: At home in the Williams team.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The 1990 Formula One season was the second season in which the Williams was powered by the first pneumatic valved Renault V10 engine. It was a mixed year for the Williams team. When the cars were running reliably they were able to show well. However, there were problems with the engine and gearbox which restricted good results on several occasions. The San Marino Grand Prix was a high point.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />The dominant cars at the time were the McLarens and the Ferraris, however at Imola, there was some doubt about the staying power of the McLarens, for on this demanding circuit they were on the limit of their fuel consumption. But if the McLarens were not up to their usual immaculate level of performance. the Ferraris seemed set to have it all their own way after dominating recent testing at Imola. As it turned out the Italian cars flattered to deceive. In qualifying their times were effortlessly beaten by both the McLarens and the Williams. Ayrton Senna (McLaren) captured the pole position with a time of 1:23.220, with Gerhard Berger (McLaren) second, Patrese third, Thierry Boutsen (Williams) fourth and then the Ferraris of Nigel Mansell and Alain Prost.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Sunday's warm-up showed that the McLarens had much less of an advantage with race tyres and fuel than they had enjoyed in qualifying. At the lights, Berger made a tremendous start, but unfortunately missed a shift which allowed first Senna, and then Boutsen to move in front of him. But just as he did so, Mansell's Ferrari darted on to the grass and sent up such a thick dustcloud that confusion broke out behind him. At the end of the first lap Senna led Boutsen by 1.5 seconds, with Berger third, Patrese fourth, Jean Alesi (Tyrrell) holding an aggressive but short lived fifth ahead of Mansell and Prost.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>1990 San Marino GP: Berger fighting hard to maintain his lead.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Senna held on in front for only three laps before he suffered a freak wheel failure which caused his tyre to go flat. As a result he wobbled out of the lead and into a sand trap. Berger was already chasing Boutsen hard, but the Belgian seemed capable of holding the McLaren until a missed shift damaged the Renault engine, which gave up on lap 17. Berger was 1.6 seconds ahead of Patrese when he moved into the lead and he was able to increase this only slightly. But Patrese had his hands full with Mansell, who had started the race on the softer Goodyear "C" tyres that the Ferrari's well-balanced chassis could use most effectively. Prost, on the harder "B" compound tyres, was also trying to catch Patrese, but it would only be Mansell, in a brave move, who would be able to put a Ferrari in front of a Williams at Imola. The Frenchman was complaining over the radio of oversteer and on lap 28 he made an unexpected stop for "C" tyres. This allowed Alessandro Nannini (Benetton) to slip by into fourth place.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With close duels being waged up and down the field, the leading cars were losing time in traffic. As the race started its second half, though, Mansell had carved Berger's lead down to half a second, with Patrese four seconds behind, followed by Nannini and Prost. On lap 36, at the fastest point on the circuit, the notorious Tamburello curve, Mansell made his move on Berger with frighteningly spectacular results. As the Briton came alongside he put two wheels on the grass and almost immediately spun wildly. Despite raising dust and spreading rubber all over the road, Mansell remarkably managed to regain control of the car and carried on. Almost four precious seconds were lost, but the Brit was quickly shaving down the gap again. He had reduced it to just over two seconds when the engine, which had been trailing smoke almost since the beginning, blew up to the disappointment of the <i>tifosi</i>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With one Ferrari retired and the other languishing in fourth place one would expect that there was little to hold the attention of the Italian crowd. It was then that Patrese began to close on Berger. The Italian had been driving an savvy race, holding back after a slow start and saving his big effort for the end. With 16 laps remaining he was close enough to challenge Berger.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1990 San Marino GP: No mistakes this time. Patrese takes his third F1 victory. </span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And this time, unlike 1983, the </span><i style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">tifosi</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> were cheering him on ..... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As chance would have it Berger was experiencing a technical issue. As the team had feared he was having fuel consumption issues, made all the worse by a damaged engine piston and this meant that he was unable to richen the mixture to compensate for the loss of power. Patrese made his first attempt to get past the Austrian at Rivazza, but the tight nature of the corner allowed Berger to defend and it took him half a dozen laps to recover. However, on lap 51, with 10 remaining, he sailed past the leading McLaren, which was being driven on the limit with brakes and tyres obviously past their best. Ironically the overtake seemed oddly familiar. "In fact, when I overtook Gerhard today it was exactly the same place where I overtook Tambay in 1983" he recalled. "And because of that, when I overtook Gerhard my first thought was about 1983. I said '<i>OK, that year I made a mistake - this year I cannot make a mistake.</i>'" He didn't. Once past the McLaren he was able to open a gap and took the chequered flag four seconds to the good. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was the 36 year-old Italian's third victory in a career that then spanned 195 Grand Prix starts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"It's difficult for me to find the words to express my happiness about this win," he grinned as he spoke in the press conference. "It is a race I really wanted, ever since 1983 when I lost here with four laps to go." </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Patrese drove with commendable intelligence, however after the race, surely the least complaining and most gracious of that era's racing drivers typically gave credit to his team. A day when something lost had been regained in the finest of fashion. A ghost vanquished. A wound healed. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And unlike 1983, the Imola crowd cheered their countryman to the echo. He deserved nothing less.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1990 San Marino GP: For Patrese, it was lost spoils reclaimed.</span></i></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-83032342813592951262017-05-09T18:25:00.000-04:002019-01-03T12:48:59.023-05:001982 United States Grand Prix (West) - Long Beach Street Circuit<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b>he Brabham team had been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Niki Lauda for the opening practice session of the penultimate round of the 1979 Formula One season in Canada. He had yet to drive the new Cosworth-powered BT49/03, and up to that point he had not even sat in the car. Having established his own airline, Lauda Air, earlier that year in April, his interest was such that he had never even been to the factory to see the new cars being built. As it turned out Lauda drove ten laps in the brand new car and then sloped off to his hotel, leaving Bernie Ecclestone to circulate a PR line that the Austrian was unwell. In truth Niki Lauda had just walked out on the world of motor racing. It was not until the afternoon that it was officially admitted that Lauda had retired from Formula One racing and broken his contract with the Brabham team. And with that, the 33 year-old two-time World Champion was gone. After his retirement, Lauda focussed on running his airline, a charter service flying within Austria, with a fleet of four planes—which Lauda often piloted himself.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #76a5af;"><i>Niki Lauda 1979</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“<i>For two years I didn’t take any real interest in motor racing,” he freely admitted. “It was a chapter in my life I believed was over. My interest was now flying, and it absorbed me totally. I could watch a Grand Prix start and not feel even the slightest tremble of excitement or enthusiasm</i>.”<br /><br />It genuinely seemed as though the moment had passed as far as his rekindling an F1 career was concerned. Until he found himself curious as to whether it was possible for him to get back into a car after two years and drive with the rest of them. Fortuitously, it was at this time when Ron Dennis, a director of McLaren International, approached Lauda with an offer designed to lure him back into Formula One racing. Lauda had received attractive offers from other teams during his retirement and had passed them up; what intrigued him this time was the unique McLaren MP4 race car. An innovative race car, designed by John Barnard, with a carbon fibre chassis, which was lighter than its aluminium counterpart but three times as stiff. However, while Lauda was impressed with the potential of the McLaren, he would also have to discover if he could adjust to the new demands of Grand Prix driving. Since his retirement Formula One racing had changed drastically as the result of the proliferation of ground-effects cars, which incorporated a uniquely designed undertray, that accelerated the air passing beneath the cars so as to form a partial vacuum and literally suck the vehicles to the surface of a racing circuit. This meant that cornering speeds had greatly increased, and so had the physical demands on the drivers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">During his first test session with the team at Donington in September of 1981 Lauda found driving quite exhausting and he had to keep a tight grip on the tiny steering wheel as his body was subjected high g-forces in the high-speed corners. While he was reasonably quick and obviously enjoying it he could only do two or three laps before having to stop to catch his breath. Niki realized that his physical condition was holding him back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Lauda signed with McLaren International on November 12, 1981 for what was rumoured to be $3 million for the scheduled 15 Grand Prix races of the 1982 season, making him the highest-paid driver in Formula One racing. Once committed to a comeback Lauda began a three-month conditioning regime, with Willi Dungl, an Austrian physical therapist who had helped in his remarkable recovery from the Nürburgring crash in 1976, that continued right up to the first Grand Prix of 1982, in South Africa in late January. In that first race of the 1982 season, on the Kyalami circuit outside Johannesburg, Lauda qualified thirteenth and finished fourth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The third round of the season was to be held in America, on the streets of Long Beach, where concentration and precision</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> driving counted for everything. Here Lauda would face an unforgiving and demanding circuit that required absolute perfection, or he’d find himself against the barrier. From the beginning of practice, however, all the smart money was on him. It was not that he took pole - he qualified second - but that he made the matter of lapping Long Beach quickly seem deceptively undramatic and simple. There lay his class.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Andrea de Cesaris 1982</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Saturday afternoon, with only a couple of minutes remaining in the last qualifying session Lauda was fastest and looked set to win the pole position having driven just seven laps, such was his speed, with the last being the quickest. There had been no flamboyance, no apparent dash. He had not looked among the quickest, and there laid the greatness of the man, his sublime ability to make it seem easy. He had threaded the McLaren between Long Beach's concrete walls, averaging over 140 kph on the 12-turn, 2.13-mile circuit, and it left you believing anyone could do it. He then stood in the pits for most of the session, not a bead of sweat apparent, his 29 rivals pounded round, to no avail. It had been a simple show of intelligence and efficiency of the kind which has made him a legend. But suddenly, 15 seconds before the qualifying hour was up, Andrea de Cesaris (Alfa Romeo) had produced a lap 0.1 seconds faster than Lauda. When he returned to the pitlane a simple glance at the young Italian illustrated the extent of his effort. He was in a very emotional state, weeping and shaking in the enormity of the moment. A lot of inspiration went into that pole position lap. However, at no point did the Italian look as strong as Lauda, simply because the great Austrian was smooth and effortless in achieving the same end, never looking close to an accident.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On Sunday morning with the Californian sun burning down, the Italian got his start absolutely right, leading the field down Shoreline Drive with Rene Arnoux (Renault) powering by Lauda to take up second spot into the right-hander at the end. Up through the swerves and onto Ocean Boulevard to begin the first full lap, with de Cesaris driving betraying no signs of nerves. The Alfa Romeo led by almost two seconds at the end of the third lap, with Arnoux, Lauda and Bruno Giacomelli (Alfa Romeo) running as a group and starting to open out a gap to the rest, who were led by Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari).</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1982 United States GP (West): Lauda bided his time in the early stages of the race. </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On the sixth lap, Giacomelli decided to take a run at Lauda at the Turn 11 hairpin. Down the inside he plunged, braking far too late. Lauda made no attempt to block him. The unfortunate victim of this piece of ambitious overtaking was the luckless Arnoux. Having shot by Lauda, Giacomelli locked up and slide into the back of the Renault punting the Frenchman out of the grand prix, now leaving Lauda untroubled in his pursuit of de Cesaris. For a few laps, though, McLaren made no impression on the Alfa Romeo, its lead was almost 5 seconds after eight laps. Thereafter Lauda slipped into that clinical precision so often witnessed during his Ferrari days, taking away a tenth here, a fifth there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The inevitable lead change happened on lap 15. Through the chicane at the start of Shoreline Drive, de Cesaris was held up by Raul Boesel (March), in an instant Lauda was right with the Alfa Romeo, and the McLaren was very swift in a straight line. Down to the right-handed Turn 1 they came, with Lauda moving smoothly and easily to the inside, leaving de Cesaris with no option other than to cede the corner. Once by, Lauda quickly began to clear, working the traffic with all the guile in the world. Undaunted, de Cesaris charged on, but a simple comparative lack of experience lost him ground every time there were cars to be lapped.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Lap 35 brought about the end of de Cesaris, whose Alfa Romeo crashed heavily at Turn 5. It was a very sad end to all his efforts. He deserved better. The picture, it seemed, was set, for Lauda had a lead of 50s, colossal by any standards. Keke Rosberg (Williams), who had found a way past Villeneuve, was still pushing hard, but his task looked hopeless. Typically, though, he did not simply settle for second place. The gap began to come down. Lauda, of course, was not hurrying as he had been before de Cesaris' exit, and he further gave hope to the Williams team by most untypically missing his braking point at the top of Linden Avenue on one occasion, just managing to keep the car on the road, but losing nine seconds of his lead in the process. It was his first and last mistake of the afternoon.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>1982 United States GP (West): Lauda calmly took the lead and controlled the race from there. </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the last few laps the Austrian was cruising, unconcerned that his lead was being diminished by the energetic Rosberg. The Williams driver never let up, hoping to be close enough to take advantage of any last-minute problem that Lauda might incur, but the McLaren swept on, finally taking the flag a little over 14 seconds to the good. The race lasted almost two hours, and Lauda was quite refreshed afterwards. He had, after all, expended far less energy than most of his rivals. It was cool, analytical and brilliant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Many of the drivers were angry afterwards about the track surface, which broke up badly in places, Nelson Piquet (Brabham), Didier Pironi (Ferrari) and Alain Prost (Renault) were among those who crashed into the barriers in the tricky conditions. Above all, though, the day belonged to Lauda, with a most conclusive victory. It was like the old days, and nothing reminded one so much as the Austrian National Anthem after the race. It took you back to countless times in the mid-seventies when Niki Lauda was dominant. Long Beach 1982 was a week in the Lauda tradition, the sort of victory he used to make a matter of routine. And that he had done it in only the third race of his comeback put everyone on notice that he was not there for money, or for fame. Lauda was there to compete at the front, win races and challenge for a third World Driver’s Championship. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> He was certainly back, and it was as though he’d never left.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Triumphant Return: In just his third GP Lauda proves he can still dominate.</i></span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-12598514468182736452017-05-09T09:58:00.002-04:002017-05-09T22:11:33.057-04:002005 San Marino Grand Prix - Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>April 24, 2005</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he beginning of the 2005 Formula One season was quite a surprise. For
five seasons Michael Schumacher and Ferrari had utterly dominated the landscape
scoring victories and championships seemingly unopposed, but in 2005 the
landscape changed. From early on in
preseason testing Renault had shown themselves to be the giant-killer, the team
that would take on the might of Maranello.
The only question was did they have the drivers to take on the German
ace who had become the most prolific champion in F1 history during his time at
the Scuderia. This task would fall to
Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso, two very strong and competent
drivers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Triumphant Duo: Alonso and Fisichella won the first three races of the season.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Italian was vastly experienced, having driven
in F1 since 1997, and had always been looked upon as a driver with the
potential to be a world champion if given the proper package. Now with Renault in 2005, he certainly had
that. The young Spaniard had already proven himself a natural talent and
himself along with Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren) were viewed as the young generation
which could supplant Schumacher as the next champion. The season certainly started according to
plan for the pair with Fisichella winning handily in Australia, and Alonso taking
victory in Malaysia and Bahrain. In fact
the talking point during the build-up to the fourth round at San Marino wasn’t
whether Renault could beat Ferrari to the championship, rather it was could
Ferrari offer any opposition to Renault in the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">championship.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The start of Ferrari’s 2005 campaign had been
less than stellar. Rubens Barrichello
had been able to score a second place podium finish in Melbourne, but apart from
that the results were not what one had come to expect from the team. Schumacher in particular had a woeful start
to the season, retiring in both Australia and Bahrain, with only a ninth place
finish in Malaysia to his credit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">2005 San Marino GP: Raikkonen seemingly had things well in hand at the start.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Qualifying for the fourth round at Imola gave
the <i>tifosi </i>little hope that the
fortunes of their beloved Scuderia had changed, as Rubens Barrichello had only
managing to qualify tenth and Schumacher was even further back in an abysmal fourteenth after a mistake at the entrance to Rivazza during the second qualifying session. With Raikkonen on pole position and Alonso
beside him on the front row few could have imagined that Schumacher or Ferrari
would </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">play </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">any role in the fight for victory during the Grand Prix.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Raikkonen made good use of his pole position in the race itself, rocketing away at the start and building a two second lead over Alonso after just the opening lap. The Finn was comfortably pulling away, steadily extending his advantage, when his McLaren suffered a driveshaft failure on the ninth lap ending his race. Alonso assumed the lead 7.9 seconds ahead of Jensen Button (BAR) and Jarno Trulli (Toyota). However the Italian did not have the pace to stay with the leaders and soon began bottling up the cars behind him. The Toyota had Mark Webber (Williams) and Takuma Sato (BAR) immediately behind, both looking for a way past. Following them closely was Alexander Wurz (McLaren) substituting for the injured Juan Pablo Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve (Sauber) and Barrichello. However, the Brazilian soon encountered electrical issues and was forced to retire on lap 11. So too was the fate of Fisichella whom on lap 5 suffered a mechanical failure, as he came through Tamburello, pitching him across the sand trap and into the barrier. All the while Schumacher was running twelfth, in the midfield, seemingly unable to move forward. However, Trulli's slower pace and the other's inability to get past him was critical to the German.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The pit stops began on lap 21 with Trulli and Webber, coming in together and exiting in the same order. As the leaders bustled in and out of the pits and generally making very little progress in terms of passing each other, both Wurz and Schumacher were continuing to run on without a stop and getting faster and faster as their cars decreased in weight. Button had briefly made inroads into Alonso’s lead with a couple of fastest laps but it proved only a temporary turn of speed in the run-up to his first stop. Schumacher had the real pace and finally unleashed the dormant potential of the F2005 with a series of ultra-fast laps. Wurz finally stopped on lap 25 and by the time Schumacher pitted two laps later he had stealthily emerged an amazing third – from running twelfth.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Twelfth to Third: Schumacher unleashed astonishing pace to maximise Ferrari's strategy.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The tactic had worked better than Ferrari could have hoped. Schumacher, now 30 seconds behind the leader but with a clear track to attack, set about closing the gap between himself and Button and completely decimated the Briton’s advantage. Schumacher was able to take off 21 seconds in 14 laps, an average of 1.5 seconds per lap, closing right up to the back of Button with a few laps to go before the final round of pit stops. With the Ferrari latched on to the gearbox of the BAR-Honda, the battle became a fight for the lead after Alonso’s stop on lap 42. Schumacher applied plenty of pressure on the Briton, holding station at around half a second behind for four laps before Button finally made a small error, on lap 47, at Acqua Minerali and inexplicably failed to defend at the Variante Alta chicane – Schumacher simply breezed past into the lead for the first time. Button pitted anyway at the end of that lap but with the Briton out the way a little earlier Schumacher was able to set himself up for the fastest lap of the race, setting a time of 1:21.858 on lap 48 that was 0.746 faster than the second best lap of the race set by Button.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On lap 49 Schumacher made a very quick stop, in which he was stationary for little more than six seconds and set an in-out time of 22.170 seconds compared to Alonso's 24.165 seconds total. That advantage, coupled with faster times over the seven laps between the two stops, the German emerged just 1.3s behind the Renault. Again, Schumacher had vastly more speed than Alonso, whose unenviable task was to absorb the pressure of his rival. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Struggling with an engine that the Renault team later admitted was virtually broken and massively downtuned, Alonso played it clever, slowing and taking unusual lines into the corners he deemed dangerous to his lead protection then accelerating early to keep Schumacher at bay.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Relentless Pressure: Alonso withstands everything Schumacher could bring at him.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For twelve gripping laps Schumacher hounded Alonso without mercy. At one point he was able to draw alongside as they dropped from Piratella to Acque Minerali, but had no space to pass. Relentless though Schumacher’s challenge was, Alonso, to his credit, was able to hold the Ferrari back with an admirable resilience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That 1.327 seconds came down to 0.376 seconds on the very next lap and fell no further than to 0.465 seconds all the way to the end as Schumacher tried all he could to force the youngster into a mistake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But Alonso refused to yield and withstood everything Schumacher applied, to the end.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When they took the chequered flag, they were separated by a mere 0.215 of a second – a thrilling display that even the tifosi were satisfied with despite the fact that their hero was denied what would have been and incredible victory on Italian soil.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What made Alonso’s victory even more impressive was the fact that the engine he used for the race was the same power unit used three weeks earlier to win in Bahrain. The searing heat of the desert venue asked more of the engine than usual and, although Fernando’s V10 finished the race, it did not come out of the weekend 100 per cent unscathed and the newly-introduced regulations for 2005 meant it still had to cover the Grand Prix at Imola without the team being able to work on it between the two races. As a precautionary measure, however, Renault restricted the maximum revs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The final stint of the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix will remain etched in the memories of everyone who witnessed it for a long time to come. That day, Michael met his match in Fernando. The young Spaniard succeeded in warding off the Ferrari driver's pressure to claim a victory he would savour in two ways: first the pure satisfaction of coming out on top in such difficult circumstances that Sunday afternoon at Imola and then later in the year, in Shanghai, where Renault clinched the Constructors' title, beating McLaren-Mercedes by nine points. A title achieved in no small part to those ten points scored in San Marino.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #76a5af; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Parc Ferme: Alonso and Schumacher congratulate each other after a titanic battle.</i></span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-54901783433428485112016-02-07T09:39:00.001-05:002022-06-02T13:35:28.285-04:001995 European Grand Prix - Nurburgring<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>October 1, 1995</i></span></div>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;">M</span>ichael Schumacher's first World Championship, in 1994, was unsatisfactory in several respects. first of all, there were inevitably mutterings that, had Ayrton Senna not been killed at Imola, he would have gone on to take his fourth title, and there is little doubt that the loss of the great Brazilian robbed us of what would surely have been one of the great championship battles in Grand Prix history. I have always believed that Senna would more swiftly have honed the Williams FW16 into the formidable machine it eventually became, and that he would have beaten Schumacher to the championship. But not by much. In the end, Michael won it from Damon Hill (Williams), by a single point, after their controversial collision in Adelaide. That, combined with black flags, suspensions and persistent rumours that in the first year of the post-gizmo era, his Benetton-Ford may not have been quite as "standard" as the FIA intended produced a World Championship outcome which was messy, to say the least.</span></div>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Few would have suggested that the title had gone to other than the best driver, however, and in 1995 Schumacher proved above and beyond that he had assumed the mantle of Formula One's supreme driver. By the Japanese Grand Prix, the German had equalled Nigel Mansell's 1992 record of nine wins in a season, but had done it - unlike Nigel - in a car which did not possess a colossal performance advantage over the rest. The Benetton B195 may have enjoyed Renault horsepower, but often the car's handling balance was markedly inferior to that of the similarly powered Williams FW17. unquestionably, Schumacher benefited from his team's superior operating qualities, but very often it was his own ability which made the difference.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Schumacher: Benetton-Renault</i></span></td></tr>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Nowhere was this better illustrated than at the European Grand Prix, held on the German Nurburgring, where it was always in the cards that unsettled weather would play a role of some significance. Race morning did not promise a memorable race, unrelenting rain and thick mist caused the warm-up session to be delayed half an hour. The gloom, however, had lifted and the rain had virtually stopped, as the race start approached, and for the first time that day some began to contemplate the possibility of a dry race. </span></div>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">To the grid then, where David Coulthard (Williams) was on pole, with Hill second. Lining up behind them were Schumacher, Gerhard Berger (Ferrari), Eddie Irvine (Jordan), Jean Alesi (Ferrari), Johnny Herbert (Benetton), Heinz-Harold Frentzen (Sauber), Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) and Mark Blundell (McLaren) rounded out the top-ten. </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">A handful of drivers gave the slick tyres a try during the warm-up session, but for the race all but the Ferraris and the McLarens opted for the wet tyres, however, the start was aborted when Massimiliano Papis (Arrows) stalled on the grid and the marshals began unaccountably to push him forwards, between the two lines of cars. After a few minutes' delay, there was another formation lap, and this time the race got underway - quickly for Frentzen, who was adjudged to have gotten a jump start, which resulted in a stop-go penalty, and slowly for Hill.</span></div>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Coulthard and Schumacher beat Hill away, therefore, and so also did Irvine, whom Damon was able to pass in the course of the opening lap, but not before losing some time to the leaders. At the end of lap one, Coulthard led Schumacher by half a second, but Hill, now third, was almost four seconds back. This he swiftly set about trimming. After five laps, he was up with Schumacher, the pair of them running a second behind Coulthard. At this point the Scotsmen looked quite well set, but of significance to everyone was that Alesi - on slicks - had been running in sixth place from the beginning, was now starting to move up. On lap six he passed Herbert for fifth, and by lap ten he was lapping faster than anyone. Soon those who had started on wets would be in for slicks, and Barrichello was the first in followed, on lap eleven , by both Schumacher and Hill. They came in together, but Michael was on his way again after only 6.6 seconds, the mechanics adding just a splash of fuel during the tyre change, while Damon was stationary for 9.5 seconds. The Benetton rejoined in front of Berger, but although the Williams narrowly failed to do the same, it was of little consequence, because Berger - despite handling problems caused by wrongly pressured tyres - was displaying good pace, and the three of them circulated in close order. </span></div>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Coulthard made his first stop on lap twelve, getting out ahead of Schumacher, but losing the lead into which went Alesi, for whom the cards seemed to be falling right. On lap fourteen Hill got by Berger, and set off after Schumacher. Very quickly he was on the tail of the Benetton, and on lap sixteen go by - only to be repassed almost immediately when he went slightly wide at the last corner. With the still drying track being quite slippery off-line Hill had to back off allowing the German through once again. It was a small, but costly error, for Schumacher is not open-handed when it comes to overtaking opportunities. Due to his points situation in the championship, where he trailed Schumacher by 17 points, Hill had to win this race to keep his title hopes alive.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1995 European GP: Alesi looked unbeatable in the early going.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">Second place. though, looked to be the best thing on offer to anyone but Alesi at this stage of the Grand Prix. Although no rain fell throughout the race, the Nurburgring, as Schumacher later pointed out, takes an extraordinarily long time to dry out, and in conditions which were treacherous anywhere but on the racing line Alesi, with a clear road before him, was looking unstoppable. Coulthard continued to run in second, but dropping a couple of seconds every time round to the Ferrari, which was reeling off new fastest laps. While Schumacher and Hill, necessarily preoccupied with their own scrap, were losing fractions of time to Coulthard. </span><span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">On lap twenty-one, however, Coulthard was held up while lapping Hakkinen, to the point where Schumacher was able to nip by, into second place. Coulthard and Hill were now nose to tail, with Damon plainly looking to go by. On lap twenty-three, Hill was by, and the pursuit of Schumacher began again. </span></div>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">While Alesi continued with his apparently endless string of fastest laps, extending his lead to over 40 seconds, Schumacher and Hill continued to circulate together, but the duel was disturbed, on lap thirty-four, when Michael made his second stop, just as Alesi made his first. Jean opted for a single-stop strategy, and thus he was in his pit for 16 seconds, while fuel to see his through to the finish went into the Ferrari. Michael's stop of 7.7 seconds, was again extremely quick , though.</span></div>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">When Alesi rejoined, he had a four-second lead, and this Hill quickly cut to nothing. By lap thirty-eight they were tied together; on lap forty they had a coming together. At the time of the incident, the pair of them were approaching a left-hand turn, and preparing to lap Gabriele Tarquini (Tyrrell). With Hill coming up on the inside, Alesi looked to have boxed himself in behind the Tyrrell, but then he chopped across, obliging Damon to go over the grass. In the impact, the Williams lost its front wing, and immediately headed for the pitlane. The nose section was replaced, new tyres went on, and fuel in, Hill resuming in fourth place, without any realistic hope now of finishing ahead of Schumacher, let alone winning the race.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Weltmeister: Schumacher closes the gap to Alesi.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span face="verdana, sans-serif">Alesi, however, continued in the lead, although far less securely than before, for Schumacher, carrying much less fuel, was closing in. It was now Michael's turn to set the new fastest laps, and he was going round a couple of seconds, at least, faster than the leader. By lap fifty Schumacher's quite brilliant charge had brought him to within a second of Alesi's leading Ferrari. His crew though had an unwelcome surprise for him.</span></div>
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">"<i>I didn't think I was going to have to stop again,</i>" he said after the race. "<i>We'd been on a two-stop strategy, after all, and I'd made two stops. But the first of those had been really to change from wets to slicks, and they didn't put much fuel in. On the second stop, too, it was the same. I didn't realise this at the time, so when they told me I needed to come in again, I was pretty upset, thinking for sure I would now lose the race.</i>"</span><br />
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<span face=""verdana" , sans-serif">On lap fifty-two, therefore, Schumacher peeled away from the tail of the Ferrari, and headed into the pits. The Benetton crew's work was perfectly executed, in 7.5 seconds, and now Michael on fresh tyres, was 24 seconds behind Alesi, with sixteen laps to the flag. </span><span face="verdana, sans-serif">To watch Schumacher in action now was to witness a great racing driver at his absolute best. </span><span face="verdana, sans-serif">Immediately, he took pieces out of Alesi's lead, but that was to be expected, given the relative condition of the two cars' tyres; it was the scything through traffic that made the sight of him so mesmeric.</span><br />
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<span face="verdana, sans-serif">On lap fifty-nine, though, he had cause briefly to think about settling for second, for it was then that he realised that the World Championship was effectively his. A car was off the road, out, and it was Hill's Williams. The Englishman's steering had been damaged during his coming-together with Alesi and while pushing to catch Coulthard he ran slightly off line in a corner, got on to the damp stuff, and went wide over the kerb. The Williams looped into a spin, and hit a tyre barrier.</span><br />
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<span face="verdana, sans-serif">"<i>When I saw Damon in the wall, I knew I had more or less secured the championship," Schumacher said, "so now I thought, 'What do I do? Stay in second position, or carry on fighting for the lead?' I believed that Alesi would be stopping again, but on the radio they told me no, he wouldn't - I couldn't believe it! Then I decided to go for it, because now, even if I fell out of the race, I would still have my 17-point lead, with three races left.</i>"</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #d0e0e3; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Into Veedol - Schumacher goes around the outside of Alesi.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span face="verdana, sans-serif">Before long, therefore, Alesi was under siege once more. It was cruel for Jean, who had led all but the first dozen laps of the race, but by now his tyres were at the end of their useful life, and he could do nothing to hinder Schumacher's remorseless progress. He tried though, to the point that, on lap sixty-one, he went briefly off the road at the Veedol-schikane, rejoining with only a wisp of a lead, but still refusing to surrender it. On lap sixty-five he made another mistake, which allowed Michael to get alongside, but still he held to his line, and it was the German which had to give way into the following corner. Further round the lap, however, Schumacher made the decisive move. On the outside, at the approach to the chicane, he drew level with the Ferrari, then mercilessly taking the racing line, forcing Alesi to make room or have a coming-together. Jean relented and the race was won.</span><br />
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<span face="verdana, sans-serif">At the flag, only Schumacher, Alesi and Coulthard were on the lead lap, Barrichello, Herbert and Irvine taking the remaining points in this memorable Grand Prix. As Michael cruised around his lap of honour, to the adoration of the German fans, Hill walked down to the trackside, applauding, and giving his great rival the thumbs up. If it saw the end of the championship battle, this was the best race of the 1995 season. At the Nurburgring, a racing circuit renowned for its lack of passing opportunities, there was more overtaking on the track, rather than in the pits, than I could remember, and Schumacher produced for his home crowd a drive worthy of his undisputed status as the best driver of that era. Only three laps remained when he finally took the lead. It could hardly have been scripted better. The sheer brilliance Schumacher and Benetton displayed at the Nurburgring was indicative of a team and driver in perfect harmony with each other, working at a level higher than any other could hope to attain.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #d0e0e3; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Ace of aces - Schumacher celebrates his brilliant victory.</i></span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-28320894023333849032015-01-03T21:50:00.000-05:002019-01-03T13:05:14.781-05:001973 Italian Grand Prix - Monza<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">H</span>e started practice with a headache from his cholera immunization and carried on with an influenza infection which gave pains across his chest and a hoarse voice on race day. His car was just plain slow through practice in addition to giving obscure braking troubles. On race morning his planned race engine dropped a valve: there was no good reason to think Jackie Stewart was going to end this particular day as World Champion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When arriving at Monza for the Italian GP Emerson Fittipaldi and Stewart were head-to-head for 1973 title, Emerson still in with a chance if he could take victory at the Autodromo. Prior to the season Lotus team manager Peter Warr promised joint number one status to Ronnie Peterson and Fittipaldi. Coming to Austria, the race before Italy, the season had unfolded in a way that Peterson had been the quickest of the two but Fittipaldi had been more consistent, thus collecting more points than the Swede. Team Lotus therefore decided that only Fittipaldi had the chance of winning the championship and that Peterson would let Emerson ahead should the situation arise. Ronnie duly submitted to team tactics and let Fittipaldi through on lap 16, only to be handed back both the lead and the victory when fuel feed problems caused Fittipaldi to retire six laps from the end. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Prior to Monza now only Cevert and Fittipaldi stood a mathematical chance of taking the title from Stewart. In Emerson's case this meant he had to win all of the remaining three races with Stewart only needing a fourth at Monza.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Jackie Stewart - Talent undeniable.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When the Friday practice/qualifying sessions began it was Peter Revson (McLaren) who was setting the pace. In fact he finished fastest in both sessions recording a 1m 36.743s. Nearest to the American was Peterson who finished second fastest at 1m 36.795s. The only other driver under 37s was Carlos Pace (Surtees). The other key players for the weekend, were not entirely happy. Denny Hulme (McLaren) and Fittipaldi were in trouble; the Brazilian's ankles were giving him pain and he had to seek attention from the medical unit. Denny, on the other hand, was having issues sorting out his car set-up. Eventually he decided that it would be better to try to adapt his driving to the car and once he did so, he was immediately up near the front. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On Saturday there was significant improvement over the times set during the previous day. The magic bracket was the 1m 36s one, and by the end of the Saturday session 10 different drivers entered it. Thus the final session shaped up as one of those stirring last-minute pole position battles. In the end, though, only four drivers had a realistic chance at pole: Revson and Hulme, were steady, smooth and controlled .... apparently comfortably so, both with times in the 1m 35s. That is until Peterson flashed and ultra-quick lap right past them, posting a lap at 1m 34.8s! Considering how closely bunched the bulk of the rest were, significantly slower than the track record set by Jacky Ickx (Ferrari) in 1972, Ronnie's improvement on the record by the better part of a second was remarkable. The man they called <i>Super Swede</i> was a special talent and this would be his seventh pole position of the season. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For some reason the Tyrrells weren't impressive at all. François Cevert had been in particular strife all day, with his brakes and Stewart was suffering the already mentioned after effects of his cholera shots and also a growing case o</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">f the flu. All of this left them 11th and 6th, respectively, on the grid. The Scot's situation was made worse, during the untimed practice on race morning, when his engine went sick with valve trouble. The Tyrrell team had a fresh engine fitted in time for the race but the car still had problems when it came to the line, where brakes had to be bled and the ignition adjusted. It seemed that circumstances were stacking up against him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As always on race day at Monza the crowd packed in as densely as possible, clambering up every tree and hoarding in sight. What they had all come to see was a motor race that promised plenty. There was the chance of seeing Stewart clinch the World Championship; of a tremendous battle between Lotus and McLaren and most important of all, to any Italian, the possibility of Ferrari fighting with the best of them.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1973 Italian GP - Stewart started well only to suffer a puncture.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The start, that year, was made on the left of the wide pit straight thus making use of the full length of the main straight, bypassing the first chicane for the opening lap. The smoke and din erupted from the 24 starting cars and they all slashed away with Peterson making a superb getaway. Revson lagged off the line, from his second place grid slot, allowing Fittipaldi to surge up from the second row to slot in behind Peterson. The long, long drag up to the <i>Curva Grande</i> ended in a Lotus one-two, an order that would last throughout the rest of the day. The pursuit was led by </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hulme in third and Stewart who had come tearing up from the third row to squeeze into fourth ahead of Revson with Arturo Merzario (Ferrari) right there in sixth place. During the opening laps this first five were already a distinct grouping and it already looked like another superbly close Grand Prix, with plenty of vivid excitement to watch. Tyres smoking and noses darting into gaps as the flood of cars poured into the newly incorporated chicanes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Cevert had broken away from his sixth row start into sixth place, but try as he could he couldn't get up in touch with the leaders. Revson, too, showed signs of not being able to mix it with the top four, but he kept them just ahead and was in touch when Stewart began to flag. For one and a half laps the Tyrrell developed an odd behaviour and as they all tore past the pits, to begin lap 8, and lined up for the chicane , Revson saw an opening. He saw it on the outside, underlined on the braking zone and drove for it. A dodgy-looking manoeuvre amid smoke and wobbling race cars, but he pulled it off and scratched by. Next time round Stewart realized that his left rear tyre had picked up a puncture and would require changing. He stopped at the end of that lap, and exited the pits just as Hulme had a big moment at the first chicane. T</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">he New Zealander's brakes hadn't reacted quite as expected arriving at the chicane too fast and caught the kerb which launched him into the air. He landed on two wheels sideways across the track right in front of Revson who had to brake sharply to avoid a collision and lost a great deal of time in the process. Thus the two Lotus 72s had disappeared into the distance and, assuming Colin Chapman's cars were to prove reliable, the race was all over bar the shouting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Things seemed to firmly be going Fittipaldi's way. Peterson and the Brazilian were running in close company, and it seemed certain that Peterson would wave Fittipaldi through to take the nine Championship points. Stewart obviously wasn't going to win anything that day; he was far back amongst the backmarkers after his tyre change had gone rather poorly. He had, however, managed to stay of the lead lap and that was critical. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He was now driving as hard as he could, but to expect him to make up such a gap seemed too much.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Fourth Place - Stewart battled through the field.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What he did then was the stuff of legend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By Lap 20 the order seemed set with Peterson leading Fittipaldi, Revson third some 14 seconds behind, then Cevert fourth with Carlos Reutemann (Brabham) fifth and closing slightly. Mike Hailwood (Surtees) had moved up to sixth place, passing Ickx on Lap 18. But all eyes were on the Tyrrell of Jackie Stewart who, urged on by the crowd, was driving a race that he later described as "<i>second only to my performance in the fog at the Nurburgring.</i>" That he could drive had never been doubted and now he was taking more out of the Tyrrell 006 than had ever been taken out of it before. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Incredibly the Scotsmen was making back all of the lost ground</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">, whipping by car after car, passing the privateers and the slowest of the works cars. T</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">hen he carved through the mass of midfield works cars. By half distance he was back up to eighth place. By Lap 30 Stewart had Ickx in his sights, the Ferrari having lost some of its radiator ducting and the Scot snatched seventh place on Lap 33. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He passed Hailwood into sixth on Lap 37, without further ado, but he was not content with that and next in sight was Reutemann, who never did manage to close up on Cevert. The Argentinian was never an easy customer to pass and Stewart trailed him for a lap and a half before moving up to fifth place </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and suddenly loomed in the mirrors of his team-mate. In a couple of laps he was right there and the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">loyal François let him by readily </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and watched him close on Revson in third place. As Stewart sliced fractions off the gap that separated him from the American, now in plain sight up ahead, scarcely the length of the Vialone chicane away, all eyes were watching the Lotus pair.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They would definitely have to move Fittipaldi ahead of Peterson if the championship was to be kept alive. If</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> things stayed as they were Stewart's fourth place meant that Fittipaldi would have to win in Italy and repeat the performance in the two North American races with the Scot unplaced to stay in the points race. If this happened Fittipaldi and Stewart would have equal points and the verdict would go to the Brazilian on number of victories. A tall order but still a possibility.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>White Flag - Lotus sinks Fittipaldi's title bid.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">There it was the 55th lap and Stewart was within five seconds of Revson, already having done the lap record, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">eight tenths of a second faster than his own qualifying time,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: start;"> on the 51st lap. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: start;">Surely Emerson would take over and get the extra three points? However there seemed to be no instructions from the Lotus pits for Peterson to give way, apparently he had been told before the race to use his own discretion. Ronnie was the kind of driver who is only interested in winning and, as the two Lotus 72s flashed by the pits with one lap remaining, the Swede was still in the lead. As they came out of the Parabolica for the last time he was still there. </span><span style="text-align: start;">As they swept past the pits Chapman, in his traditional manner, flung his hat skywards to celebrate t</span><span style="text-align: start;">he first Team Lotus one-two since Kyalami in January 1968. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Brazilian was furious after the race. Some observers had noted some favouritism towards Peterson during the season and at the time this </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">decision was seen as an confirmation of that. In the end Fittipaldi decided it was time to leave Team Lotus and signed with McLaren for the 1974 season.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So 1973 proved to be Jackie's greatest season. Not only did he know it was his last, but he was campaigning a car that was inferior to at least two other marques: McLaren and Lotus. Yet he scratched together his five GP wins, enough to put him ahead of Fangio and Clark in total GP victories. A bench</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">mark which would stand for 14 years. However, perhaps his greatest drive would not be counted amongst this tally. When he was ill and when the fates seemed against him, Stewart rose up, indomitable and indefatigable. Demonstrating to all something far more tangible than victories .. the heart of a champion and proof positive that he belongs among the very best of all time.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Triple World Champion - Stewart would retire at season's end.</i></span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-86270875842021412792014-12-24T18:22:00.000-05:002019-01-03T13:13:08.593-05:001985 Portuguese Grand Prix - Autódromo do Estoril<div style="text-align: right;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">yrton Senna's maiden season, at Toleman in 1984, had been nothing short of a sensation. If Monaco, where he finished second to Prost in monsoon-like conditions, was an incredible single performance when taken in isolation, two further podium finishes, in Great Britain and Portugal, for a team more familiar with struggling to qualify confirmed that Senna was a remarkable talent. In his single season with Toleman, Senna scored as many points as every other driver for the team combined in their history.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #9fc5e8; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Next Step - Senna joins Lotus and de Angelis</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was apparent that Toleman was not a team with which Senna could conceivably hope to achieve his championship aspirations, and having correctly </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">identified that the Lotus-Renault combination would best serve his career ambitions in 1985, Senna duly sealed the deal. But for a man with so obviously passionate about his chosen calling, he remained objective enough to agree to </span>joint number-one status with Elio de Angelis. Senna was the first driver signed to Lotus since the death of Colin Chapman in 1982, and de Angelis the dashingly enigmatic and cultured Italian had five years' experience at the team. Elio's natural charisma and talent marked him as a firm favourite within the team, although his apathetic attitude towards testing and the increasingly technical aspects of Formula One were a weakness Senna was primed to ruthlessly exploit. The dedication which Senna applied to his racecraft would become one of his defining professional characteristics, and he allied this facet with his blistering speed to swing the momentum of the Lotus team away from de Angelis through the course of the 1985 season.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />All of his determination and zeal came to fruition at just the second round of the championship in Portugal. And it was a timely tonic for the once mighty Lotus team. Their cars had won only once since the days of Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson, when the team dominated F1, and that was out of the blue. Since then, they had often taken pole, often led, but this race, at Estoril, had been dominated by a Lotus, first to last.<br /><br />Senna, stunning in the Toleman here in 1984, was the clear pace-setter in both timed sessions. De Angelis was fastest on Friday morning, but thereafter Senna was in control, the 97T was visibly strong in all departments. With it and Ayrton was able to score his first pole position, on only his second weekend with Lotus. On Friday the elements helped a bit, occasional splashes of rain, then a brief but fierce downpour ensuring that the Brazilian's time was beyond reach, but on Saturday his first flying lap settled the issue. Later in the session he did one more, and that would also have been good for the front row where he was joined by Alain Prost (McLaren).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The warm-up session on Sunday took place under murky skies and odd drops of rain, but soon after noon grey skies were going black. Everyone was going to be on wets. Indeed a timely race for Ayrton to have scored his first pole position. In these conditions a good start, and a clear road, would be more than usually important. Only the leader would be seeing much in the early laps. Senna did the job, smoothly away without too much wheelspin, but into the first corner there was black and gold rather than the expected red and white, in his mirrors. De Angelis had beaten Prost away, and that was going to be important.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1985 Portuguese GP - Senna and de Angelis lead the field away.</i></span></td></tr>
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On the grid Keke Rosberg (Williams), third, had stalled, allowing de Angelis, fourth, some room with which to work. Although Michele Alboreto (Ferrari), directly behind the stranded Williams, lost little time in going round it, de Angelis momentarily had a clear path down in the middle and made the most of it. At the end of lap one then, Senna and de Angelis came through 1-2, followed by Prost, Alboreto, Derek Warwick (Renault), Niki Lauda (McLaren), Andrea de Cesaris (Ligier), Patrick Tambay (Renault), Nelson Piquet (Brabham) and Stefan Johansson (Ferrari).</div>
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Senna was treading warily, at the same time doing it faster than everyone else. Making the most of his clear view, he was already lapping at a speed beyond his team-mate. After two laps there was a 3 second gap between the Lotuses, and Prost's McLaren was a similar distance behind de Angelis. Further back in the field Bellof had predictably been making excellent progress, reviving memories of his brilliant display at Monaco last year. From a grid position of 21st, he had come past 14th at the end of the opening lap, and had Winkelhock's RAM against the ropes. Getting by though, was a different matter, for the German could always pull out several lengths down the pit straight. On lap five they touched and spun, both managing to continue, but Stefan's right front wing was gone. He opted to stay out with what he had, and proceeded to charge for the rest of the afternoon.</div>
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Far and away the most imperturbable man on the circuit appeared to be the leader. Once or twice the Lotus jinked under braking for the first corner, but never once did it look like escaping Senna's control. Just occasionally comes a race when one driver makes the rest look ordinary, and this was one such. After 10 laps Senna had nearly 12s over his team-mate, who was coming under repeated pressure from Prost, the McLaren in turn being caught by Alboreto's Ferrari. Then Rosberg crashed and not long after that Warwick too, hit a barrier.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Flawless Drive - Senna was brilliant in the worst of conditions.</i></span></td></tr>
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At the front there was no change. As the 30-lap mark approached Senna led by more than 30s and Prost continued to crowd de Angelis for second place, with Alboreto's beautifully driven Ferrari ever present in their mirrors. As the two of them pounded down the pit straight to begin lap 31, the McLaren suddenly began to weave, veering first left, then right, then breaking into a spin and hitting the wall. Conditions had now gone from bad to appalling. At this point Senna was waving vigorously as he passed the pits, indicating that the race should be stopped. All around the circuit were abandoned cars. Pierluigi Martini (Minardi), after countless spins, was finally out, as was Gerhard Berger (Arrows). The young Austrian had driven a fine and forceful race. Mauro Baldi (Spirit) gave the guardrail a very sizeable thump, and Martin Brundle (Tyrrell), running 10th despite gearbox problems, also spun into retirement.</div>
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There were, however, no mistakes from the leader, despite the fact that he was lapping faster than anyone else. An hour into the race he was 40s clear, and interest centred on the battle for second, for Alboreto very definitely had his sights set on de Angelis. On lap 43 the Ferrari had emerged from the spray and flicked inside the Lotus as they approached the first turn. De Angelis made no real attempt to close the door. Immediately he made a rather futile attempt to get back at Michele, but only two corners later left his breaking too late and slid wide. On the gravel and slippery grass he did a fine job in keeping control of the Lotus, but while off-course punctured a front tyre, which deflated slowly thereafter but did not keep him from reaching the finish. However, this allowed Tambay, who had driven an excellent race, to close on the Italian and take third place on Lap 59. De Angelis, struggling with his soft front tyre, could offer no resistance – indeed he was lapped by team mate Senna before the end.</div>
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After 67 laps of the originally scheduled 69, with the two hour time limit having been reached, the chequered flag went out to Senna. In the manner pioneered by Colin Chapman, some of the Lotus mechanics jumped over the barrier and onto the track to greet their man. Before reaching the first turn Ayrton had flung off his belts, and was waving both arms wildly. This was his 17th grand prix, only his second for Lotus, and he had won it. More than that, he had been in a different class right from the green light. Fastest in both sessions, fastest lap of the race, leader all the way. Grand Chelem. Victories like that deserve more than nine points.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Magic Victory - Senna could hardly contain himself.</i></span></td></tr>
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"The big danger," he said later, outward exuberance now gone, "was that conditions changed all the time. Sometimes the rain was very heavy, sometimes not. I couldn't see anything at all behind me. It was difficult even to keep the car in a straight line sometimes, and for sure the race should have been stopped. It was much worse than Monaco last year. Once I nearly spun in front of the pits, like Prost, and I was lucky to stay on the road."</div>
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If Monaco '84 had alluded to Senna's wet-weather prowess, his first Grand Prix victory, in just his second race for Lotus, confirmed his prodigious ability in the wet. From the start he was in a race of his own, and made no mistake worthy of the name in conditions so appalling as to catch out a man of Alain Prost's quality. He simply decimated the field in torrential conditions, taking his maiden victory by over a minute and lapping the entire field up to third place. It was a stunning statement of intent from Senna, declaring for the first time his front-running credentials and asserting the unrivalled skill in the wet that would become one of the most enduring attributes of the Senna legend. It was a mesmeric performance.</div>
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Towards the end of 1985 one man was afforded a unique, fleeting insight into what made Senna such a special performer at the wheel. John Watson. a veteren of a decades Grand Prix endeavour was having his last ever F1 drive deputized into the McLaren team for Niki Lauda, who had injured his wrist. The occasion was the Grand Prix of Europe at Brands Hatch, and Watson was just slowing his McLaren after a qualifying run on the first day of the meeting."I came through Westfield Bend into Dingle Dell." he recalls very precisely, "when I saw a black car coming up in my mirrors and moved off-line to let it past. it was Senna, and I then witnessed something that few people could ever have been privileged to see from such close quarters. As he came past me, not only was his car carrying so much speed, but he seemed to be braking, blipping the throttle, changing gear and throwing his car into Westfield Bend all at the same time. And at absolutely awesome speed. The Lotus was dancing absolutely on tippy-toes, on the very limit of adhesion, but he displayed his remarkable ability to retain his composure in such extreme situations. I reckon I saw something very special that day: it was a little glimpse of his genius."<br />
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Genius indeed, and Estoril was a prime example of Senna's innate talent. He, himself considered this the greatest victory of his career and as a result of it, he was given the apt moniker of "Magic".<br />
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<i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">November 18, 2012</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>here’s no more iconic scene in American Western movies than the good old-fashioned gunfight, where the lawman and the outlaw meet at high noon, facing each other on a dusty road in the centre of town ….. hands at the ready to draw their pistols when the first one flinches. Tension is everywhere as humble townspeople cringe behind barrels and saloon doors, watching nervously as two famous names square off and only one will win. In actuality, this kind of thing very rarely occurred, but it is a scenario that Hollywood has relied on time and again to satisfy the public’s fascination with pitting the two very best against each other in a fair contest.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Five years after the previous United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis, even a Hollywood script could not have been better written to the true life drama displayed at the first Grand Prix to be held at Austin’s, Circuit of the Americas, the tenth track to be used to host a US Grand Prix.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The 2012 race was a straight fight between Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) and while during that season they were the established aces of the day, the previous USGP in 2007 offered a similar storyline, but at that time Vettel and Hamilton were very different protagonists …..</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2007 USGP: Hamilton celebrates.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Just seven days after claiming a maiden Grand Prix win at Montreal in Canada, Hamilton delivered another assured drive at the famous Motor Speedway circuit. After taking a second straight pole position, the 21-year old was able to complete a grid-to-flag victory, coolly dealing with team-mate Fernando Alonso’s two attempts to pass him. The Spanish World Champion tried to hustle Hamilton off the grid but the rookie pulled away and used his now customary pace to stretch his lead. After making their first pit-stops just one lap apart, Alonso tried again to pass Hamilton, who had become embroiled with the backmarkers. Alonso gathered pace in Hamilton’s slipstream and the two McLarens went side-by-side down the main straight, only for Alonso to be thwarted by the Briton as they entered Turn One – after that tussle the McLarens did not race again. Hamilton’s win in Indianapolis saw him become only the fourth rookie to win at least two races in their debut season</span>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2007 USGP: Vettel's debut with BMW.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was also an historic day in Indianapolis for Sebastian Vettel, who became the youngest driver to score a point in Grand Prix history. The 19-year old was making his Formula One debut for BMW Sauber as a replacement for Robert Kubica, who was still recovering from the effects of his high-speed crash in Montreal. Vettel drove smartly to an eighth place finish. Later that same season, BMW allowed Vettel to switch to the Scuderia Toro Rosso team where he took a regular driving position replacing the American, Scott Speed.</span></div>
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Fast forward five years and these two had both become World Driver's Champions. Hamilton in 2008 and Vettel taking the titles in 2010 and 2011. With the German well on his way to adding his third world title in 2012 as the F1 circus convened in Austin. </div>
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Vettel duly claimed his sixth pole position of the season in what would be his 100th Grand Prix start. He had dominated every session of practice and qualifying at the impressive Circuit of the Americas and it looked as if only a reliability issue would stop him from taking his fifth victory in six starts. Hamilton had been a second behind Vettel's time in Q2, but put in a tremendously committed Q3 lap to qualify second, just over a tenth of a second behind the German, putting the championship leader under some pressure. </div>
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Sunday, however, began with a classic bit of 11th hour F1 chicanery.</div>
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Ferrari, who was desperately trying to keep Fernando Alonso in the championship fight, decided to break the seal on Felipe Massa’s gearbox, thereby inducing a five-place grid penalty which lifted his team-mate Alonso up to seventh and on to the clean side of the grid, a huge advantage at the brand new circuit. While some in the paddock derided the decision as unsporting, Ferrari, a team with a clear history of favouring their lead driver, certainly were not losing any sleep over it. However on this day Ferrari and Alonso would be mere bit players in the drama. Instead it was Hamilton who posed the greatest threat to Vettel.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGsqsEslMbyjBfpXAe500z5lb6mLPNxjbEcAXsj1J002PpyBQ1fDp3yMmlch2uNzdwbSam7oPxZo_zkojIBqlM_4ZKRchURXbnCi2N7Tv8GL3_OCDve1yAN1RIP6K9s8vRXLwqI25WKO4c/s1600/2012+USGP+-Vettel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGsqsEslMbyjBfpXAe500z5lb6mLPNxjbEcAXsj1J002PpyBQ1fDp3yMmlch2uNzdwbSam7oPxZo_zkojIBqlM_4ZKRchURXbnCi2N7Tv8GL3_OCDve1yAN1RIP6K9s8vRXLwqI25WKO4c/s1600/2012+USGP+-Vettel.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2012 USGP: Vettel maintains the gap to Hamilton. </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The World Champion made a perfect getaway when the lights went out. Hamilton too started well, but being on the dirty side of the track hampered him enough that Mark Webber (Red Bull) was able to get around the Englishman into Turn 1. It seemed like the Red Bulls were free and clear to walk this race, but Hamilton was not willing to give up without a fight. The McLaren retook second place from Webber on lap four by using his Drag Reduction System (DRS) on the long straight between Turn 11 and Turn 12. With Webber disposed of, Hamilton soon began reducing the gap to Vettel and an enthralling duel ensued.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Vettel and Hamilton were in a class of their own and the pair engaged in a thrilling race-long game of cat and mouse. Every time Hamilton closed to within a second or so of Vettel, threatening to get into the one-second DRS range, the German would respond. From lap 35 onwards, Hamilton was within range and stuck limpet-like to the back of the Red Bull for lap after lap</span>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: start;">Hamilton was always a threat, and quicker through sector 1, but Vettel seemed to have him covered and to be well in control ..... until they encountered Narain Karthikeyan (HRT) in sector one on lap 42. </span><span style="text-align: start;">Through a superb section of the new circuit, from Turns 2 through 7, with no grip off-line, Karthikeyan stayed on the racing line until they exited Turn 7, which cost Vettel more than a second. It also put Lewis comfortably close enough for DRS detection down the back straight and Hamilton knew it was his chance. </span><span style="text-align: start;">Vettel moved left but such was the McLaren's speed advantage that Lewis could have gone either side. He went right and had sufficient momentum to chop back across and protect the inside into Turn 12.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8LlC2pT4OMB8B2ygu6DbUhx83Noi4mW33ojVdPyYiISCJQ0BXFAEjQw7h0y4QQi9n-EPJKv35bhaWLL4Ju8EqFXb9sP-q4hjjT7NeZGWnOL_RvpDE8jK9kvY6sd1NbBosGqDz_UPQrF_/s1600/2012+USGP+-+Hamilton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx8LlC2pT4OMB8B2ygu6DbUhx83Noi4mW33ojVdPyYiISCJQ0BXFAEjQw7h0y4QQi9n-EPJKv35bhaWLL4Ju8EqFXb9sP-q4hjjT7NeZGWnOL_RvpDE8jK9kvY6sd1NbBosGqDz_UPQrF_/s1600/2012+USGP+-+Hamilton.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2012 USGP: Hamilton made the most of his chance.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Vettel's frustration was apparent from the ensuing radio transmission. Thereafter their roles were reversed with Vettel the hunter and Hamilton the hunted, fending off the German for lap after lap. However, as hard as the German had tried to hit back, on that day, Lewis and the McLaren were a match for Sebastian and the RB8. Crucially, Vettel was never quite able to get within DRS range. Hamilton, who was set to leave McLaren for Mercedes in 2013, was intent on delivering another win for the team before his departure and did so with elan as he seized his fourth win of the season and the twenty-first of his career</span>.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm massively proud and extremely happy. To overtake both Red Bulls in the race was the coolest thing for me. The backmarkers really came into play today - and, finally, they worked in my favour. I've often been caught out when I've been trying to get through traffic, but things finally went my way today. When Seb [Vettel] was delayed by a backmarker, I knew I had to grab my chance, so I turned the engine up to maximum revs and pushed like crazy. Along the back-straight I went to the to the outside, but Seb closed the door, so I moved to the inside, and he came back towards me. I was very lucky. It was very close.</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Respect: Vettel congratulates Hamilton.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Vettel was extremely generous and noble during the post-race interview. It was evident that despite finishing second, he clearly enjoyed the battle with Hamilton :</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"<i>It was a very good race and we did everything we could, but unfortunately we ran into traffic at the wrong time and lost the gap to Lewis. He used his chance well, I tried to cover the inside but he had more speed down the straight. I respect the positions; Lewis beat us fair and square.</i>" </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Vettel's disappointment was tempered by the fact that he was able to finish ahead of title rival Alonso and thus increase his championship lead with only one Grand Prix remaining in the season. He would in fact win that race and capture his third consecutive World Championship. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is always a rare and special thing when two of the best drivers of the era battle from start to finish in a Grand Prix. Both drivers raced superbly that day and both were deserving of victory. Hamilton and Vettel grew up watching and admiring two titans of Formula One history, Senna and Schumacher. That day they proved that they themselves were worthy of the admiration of the next generation to come. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The 1978 World Driver's Champion, Mario Andretti, summed it up best when he carried out the post-race podium interview: “</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We just witnessed an awesome, awesome race right to the end.</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">” </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Champions all: Vettel and Hamilton on the podium with Andretti.</i></span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-78985843465965827282014-02-21T23:15:00.000-05:002016-02-06T22:08:49.363-05:001990 French Grand Prix - Circuit Paul Ricard<div style="text-align: right;">
<i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">July 8, 1990</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">L</span>eyton House Racing (formerly March Racing) looked to be the most promising new outfit on the Grand Prix scene in 1988, its second season of F1 racing, when Ivan Capelli gave the McLaren-Honda drivers a fright on two memorable occasions. Under team chief Ian Phillips and its highly rated designer Adrian Newey, then 27, the only way for the Japanese-funded project seemed to be up. They were a happy group.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Adrian Newey: The start of a great F1 career.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By the 1990 Mexican Grand Prix, though, Leyton House Racing was almost literally flat on its back. The cars were uncompetitive, the crew tight-lipped. And Phillips had been absent since the second round in Brazil, suffering from meningitis. Leyton House thus suffered something of a leadership vacuum. In Mexico both Ivan Capelli and Mauricio Gugelmin failed to qualify and shortly afterwards technical director Newey and chief draftsman Tim Holloway left the team.<br /><br />Like the boss’s sickness, the problems were all curable – eventually. Unhappily, they appeared to be more fundamental than anyone could hav</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">e imagined. The CG901 was aerodynamically very advanced. Newey had pursued a design concept pioneered by Benetton’s Rory Byrne, by concentrating most of the car’s aerodynamic performance on its front wings. The principle offers advantages but at the same time it was extremely sensitive to change. Before he departed, Newey completed major modifications for the car and these proved extraordinarily successful at the next round on the calendar, the French Grand Prix.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This was Ferrari’s 100th Grand Prix and victory did not come easily. Alain Prost’s undiminished ability played a vital part, together with a car that stayed healthy despite a persistent electrical problem. The Ricard circuit, hosting the French Grand Prix supposedly for the last time, took a sort of revenge for its rejection by posing physical and technical problems which had already taxed the initiative of drivers and engineers to the limit in two days of qualifying. Although the Ferrari men didn’t get all their calculations right, at least they made far fewer mistakes than their rivals.</span></div>
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Outshining all the big names, though, were Leyton House who staged a spectacular return to form at Ricard and, by staying out when everybody else pitted for fresh tyres. Capelli came within a whisker of an unbelievable victory.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Ivan Capelli</i></span></td></tr>
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Ricard can be a tricky circuit, and on Friday, Nigel Mansell adjusted his Ferrari to the conditions better than anybody. The result was a time that could not be beaten in Saturday’s changing conditions. Gerhard Berger (McLaren) claimed second on the grid with Ayrton Senna (McLaren) third. Prost, who was on pole here last year, blew the special qualifying engine in his spare car and was pleased to be fourth fastest with a time set in his race car with its less powerful race-spec engine. The Leyton House entries qualified seventh (Capelli) and tenth (Gugelmin), which was an achievement in itself after Mexico. But it would not be until Sunday morning, when the team’s engineers realised that they could run non-stop on Goodyear’s softer “C” compound if the drivers avoided sliding the cars too much. Everyone else – even those starting on the harder and safer “B” compound – was planning to stop for tyres.</div>
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The run to the first corner was a duel between Mansell and Berger, with Mansell gaining the advantage. However, Berger deftly darted past him and into the lead at Signes. As they crossed the line at the end of the first lap Berger was 1.1s ahead of Mansell, with Senna only 0.4s back in third place. Alessandro Nannini (Benetton) lay fourth, ahead of Riccardo Patrese (Williams), Prost and Thierry Boutsen (Williams).</div>
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Capelli, having made a good start, got a nasty surprise when Prost braked early at the first corner. The Leyton House, with its wheels wreathed in smoke, banged Goodyears with Boutsen, and the Italian began to worry about the vibration that he could suddenly feel through his steering. On lap 10, Senna now past Mansell and into second, was stepping up the pressure on Berger. But with tyre stops planned by all of them, overtaking was likely to be a wasted exercise. Meanwhile, Nannini closed on the three leaders. Patrese lay fifth, stalked by a frustrated Prost. Nelson Piquet (Benetton) was seventh, with Jean Alesi (Tyrrell) and Capelli closing up. Senna did not finally move into the lead until lap 28, when Berger was already heading for his pit and a change of tyres. It took 12.7s , bad enough compared with Prost's Ferrari stop on the previous lap (7.6s) but nowhere near as disappointing as Senna's stop of more than 16s. That left him in eight place behind Piquet, with it all to do.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1990 French GP - Capelli worked his strategy to perfection.</i></span></td></tr>
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When Senna stopped for tyres on lap 30, it was Capelli - first of the "non-stoppers" - who took over the lead. Team-mate Gugelmin moved into second place and started a defence against Prost that would last for the next 20 laps. On television, the BBC's James Hunt was anxious to point out that the Leyton House 1-2 was no more than a temporary and artificial situation "probably to get their sponsors on the telly" which would be resolved as soon as they made their essential tyre stops. Hunt would later eat those words as he realised, like many team managers in the pits, that the Leyton House boys had pulled off a magnificent bluff.</div>
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Gugelmin's day ended with 28 laps to go when his Judd EV engine gave up. Ironically, Capelli had taken his own Judd round to 14,000rpm (1500rpm more than permitted) - and it held out almost to the finish. The most important part of the Leyton House performance was the speed of the cars on the straight. With much better acceleration, especially because his car was quite good through the corner before the straight, under braking, Prost was never close enough to risk an overtake. The only place where it may have been possible was the double-right corner, and it was clear that the Frenchman would do everything he could in the last laps.</div>
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Capelli seemed to have enough speed on the straight to hold Prost. But the gap stayed at under 1 second for the last 16 laps, except when traffic allowed Capelli to pull out a bit more. With three laps to go, Prost made his final bid in the double right-hander after Signes. He did not know that Capelli was getting signals that his oil and fuel pressures were sagging, so the overtaking moment was memorable. Although Capelli hung on, he was nursing home a sick Judd. Senna, having battled his way back up to third place, was no threat, being almost 10 seconds back.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>So close, yet so far - Capelli has to settle for second.</i></span></td></tr>
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In his anxiety to greet Capelli's second place, Gustav Brunner forgot the FISA rules and bounded over the pit wall as soon as his car limped across the finishing line. It could have cost the Leyton House team a hefty fine, or worse. As it happened, he was let off with a warning.Brunner was entitled to celebrate, though. "This morning, I would have been happy with just the one point we needed to avoid pre-qualifying in the second half of the season," he enthused. "Instead, we ended up leading for more than 40 laps!"<br />
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It was an amazing achievement. From the double non-qualification in Mexico two weeks previous, here were the turquoise cars taking over the lead of the French Grand Prix and dishing out what should have been a hiding to McLaren-Honda and Fiat-Ferrari. It was proof-positive that it takes more than money to win in F1 ..... innovation, hard work and belief can carry even the smallest team to the front and Leyton House surely proved it at Paul Ricard that day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1990 French GP Podium - what a difference two weeks make.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>June 22, 1975</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">L</span>ord Alexander Hesketh was a larger-than-life extrovert who enjoyed a considerable inheritance and had a good time spending it. Always a racing enthusiast, he was a friend of Anthony "Bubbles" Horsley, who was having little success in Formula 3 in the 1970s.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At the same time, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">James Hunt's career as an F3 driver was heading rapidly downwards on the day in 1971 when Bubbles Horsley sought him out. Both men were taking part in an F3 race at Chimay in Belgium, and the encounter took place in the tent that passed for the gents' toilet in the middle of a muddy field. Hunt rapidly agreed to drive one of the horrid Dastle F3 cars which Horsley was running for his friend Hesketh. After both Hunt and Horsley wrote off their F3 cars in the middle of the 1972 season Bubbles gave up driving and concentrated on team management. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For 1973 Hesketh bought a Formula 2 Surtees, but James shunted it in testing and the good Lord decided he might as well go the whole hog and rented a Formula 1 Surtees. Hunt was third in the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch and Hesketh decided it was time to forget about the junior ranks. He ordered a new March and managed to persuade one of March's young brains, Harvey Postlethwaite, to design a new car, working from Hesketh's Easton Neston estate.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>James & Suzy: fit Hesketh to a tee.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In that first year Hesketh Racing was looked on with something approaching scorn by the Establishment. They partied everywhere, taking butlers, champagne and Rolls Royces wherever they went. Memories burn bright of the pranks and excesses in which Hesketh's band of Hooray Harrys indulged. They invited rock stars and celebrity chefs to the races (just as today's far more staid F1 teams do). Bubbles, well ahead of his time, drummed up financial support by offering a range of knick-knacks and clothing emblazoned with a jolly Hesketh teddy bear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For all of the team's frivolity, Dr. Harvey Postlethwaite proved to be an ambitious and ingenious chief engineer. In 1974 Hesketh's money enabled him to design his very first Grand Prix car, the Hesketh 308. And it proved to be a winner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As it happened that crowning achievement came at the most unlikely of places. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">nyone who was paying attention at the 1975 Dutch Grand Prix, could be forgiven for wondering why anybody but Ferrari bothered coming to Holland. The previous year's race had been a complete walkover for the Scuderia and pre-race testing in 1975 had suggested that whatever were the magic combination of ingredients inside the Maranello cars that made them particularly well suited for the Zandvoort circuit, had not been lost. Any lingering stubborn optimist must have lost all hope well before the end of official practice, when the time sheets showed the Ferraris still supreme by an almost ridiculous margin. Niki Lauda was firmly on pole position with his team-mate Clay Regazzoni second, Hunt third and Jody Scheckter (Tyrrell) in third.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1975 Dutch GP: Lauda and Ferrari seemed unbeatable.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On race day the skies were dark and cloudy, and there was a heavy downpour prior to the start. As race time approached, the rain had let up and actually stopped. The sky was still dull, the visibility was still low, the wind was still blowing, but nobody knew what would it bring. However, with the light resumption of rain, everyone firmly decided on wet tyres. Then they went to the line.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Lauda got off well, Regazzoni lagged, Scheckter started perfectly. The Tyrrell had to jink left by the Ferrari which put it onto the wet grass at the roadside for a few metres and Jody had to lift off. As the thundering, splashing horde arrived at the first corner it was still Niki in front. Scheckter did get into second, Hunt was on the inside and probably third from Regazzoni, and then it was impossible to sort them out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was in fact very wet around the circuit, and faced with dense spray of churning water everyone very quickly settled into a single file formation with breathing space up to the next man. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They completed their first lap, Lauda and Scheckter, and then Regazzoni who had stayed third from Hunt after all; Jochen Mass (McLaren) was next, then Tom Pryce (Shadow), and Emerson Fittipaldi (McLaren) with Carlos Reutemann (Brabham) alongside, overtaking the Brazilian into Tarzan at the start of the second lap.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The rain was over almost immediately. More quickly than seemed possible the surface of the road lost its sheen, the comets of mist dwindled, and within only a half a dozen laps a dry line started to form.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hunt was the first to make up his mind to stop. It was a bold decision to make, because although the racing line may have been dry enough for slicks you had only two very narrow dry strips in which to run and if you went only a few inches off line you were on the wet. But there is an obvious advantage in getting power down through smooth tyres on a dry surface as soon as possible, and at the end of the seventh lap James boldly broke away from his forth place and veered into the pits. He rejoined in 19th place. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After that it was wholesale, with runners diving for the pits in large groups. Lauda held on to his lead until the end of the 13th lap, before relinquishing it to Regazzoni; the pitwork at Ferrari was good and he rejoined the string of mixed up cars just as Hunt was coming by, but the difference in speed sent the Hesketh ahead through Tarzan.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When Regazzoni pitted and all else was sorted it was James who was leading the race. That vitally prompt decision to change tyres had paid off. The seconds he'd gained running in those two narrow dry strips, had made all the difference. He was ahead of the fearsome Ferrari by about 10 seconds. Now the thing to watch was whether he could hold it at that. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1975 Dutch GP: Hunt's inspired pitstop gave him the edge.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What nobody knew, what everyone had to wait and see about, was how well everyone was suited to the rapidly drying conditions. Hesketh had chosen to set the car up for dry conditions. So now, as it went their way, their driver found his car responding properly and he was fast. Ferrari however had chosen more of a compromise, and their overwhelming speed advantage had gone. Lauda was still quick, but not really quicker than anyone else now. Besides, there was Jean-Pierre Jarier (Shadow) who was right on the Ferrari's tail, and was running very strongly. After a couple of laps weighing things up, Jean-Pierre pulled by. Niki did not give up, he gave chase instead. As hard as he knew how he pressed Jarier, and the two of them became a familiar sight as lap after lap they appeared at the head of the pit straight still locked in tight one-two formation. All the while Hunt was holding his place out in front.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Lauda, after 43 laps of the race, managed finally to scratch by Jarier at the end of the straight and quickly broke free of the Shadow. With that it became only a two car race, Hunt against Lauda, nobody else looking like challenging them. It ws only a matter of seeing if the Ferrari could come good and catch the Hesketh. And it didn't look like it for a while. For lap after lap the interval stayed steady enough to hearten the English squad. Eventually the gap did begin to decrease, though it seemed to be shrinking not on speed at all, but on speed through traffic. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Immense Pressure: Hunt maintains his composure and wins.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hunt was losing ground to Lauda, little by little. He was having troubles with backmarkers, and knots of them were occasionally costing him the odd second or two. Lauda did close up, and for many long laps at the closing stage of the race was nose to tail and looking for the slightest error. The confidence of many Grand Prix victories under his belt, the ease of a comfortable championship points lead sweetening it, he could afford to wait for "Hunt the Shunt" to goof.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But James didn't goof. He never put a wheel wrong, he never missed a step in his pattern. As the last five laps began he even began to press harder, and the Hesketh actually drew out a little from the Ferrari. Quicker round the fast bends at the back, quicker along the straight, losing ground only in the slow corners now, Hunt came out on to the straight for the 75th time still having made no error. The final corner accomplished, he ran down the straight and took the chequered flag not quite a second to the good. The Hesketh pit exploded.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was a popular victory. It was a hard fought, clean, worthwhile victory too, one that will always stick in the mind - and that "Hunt the Shunt" and the merry men of Hesketh had stopped the Ferraris was not the least of it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">British motor racing owes a debt to James Hunt for putting the sport on the front page as well as the back. He was helped there by the antics of Lord Hesketh's band of party animals, and by other acts of personal mischief. But the playboy was also an inspired driver who knew exactly what he wanted to achieve and how hard he would have to work. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As for Lord Hesketh, Zandvoort was to be the only Grand Prix win for Hesketh Racing. He had always run his cars without commercial backing but even he did not have bottomless pockets and 1976 was looking a bit dubious. Hunt was now in demand and, when Fittipaldi unexpectedly left McLaren, to set up his own operation, James was given his seat and went on to win the 1976 Championship after an epic battle with Lauda. Without a driver of Hunt's calibre on the books, the motivation of the early days were gone and Hesketh Racing wound down, concentrating on servicing customer Cosworth engines for a time. One of the great chapters of classic British racing romanticism was at an end. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Not all Fun and Games: Hunt give Hesketh it's only victory. </i></span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-60909745173988163502013-11-11T14:45:00.000-05:002016-02-06T22:07:08.895-05:001992 Monaco Grand Prix - Monte Carlo<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></i></span><i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">May 31, 1992</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or the first time in a long time a Honda engine wasn't enough. Not even a Honda engine with Ayrton Senna sitting in front of it. After only 10 of the season's 16 races, Nigel Mansell would equal Senna's record of eight victories in a season. The Williams-Renault FW14B, "active" suspension and all, exerted a greater superiority over the rest than anyone could remember. McLaren, and all the others were not beaten in 1992. They were routed. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Nigel Mansell: Williams-Renault</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Coming into the race at Monte Carlo, Mansell had dominated the season to date, winning the first five races, a feat unequalled in Grand Prix history. He carried this form into qualifying, taking a comfortable pole position with team-mate Riccardo Patrese second and Senna third. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At the start Mansell fairly leapt off the grid, moving smartly left to discourage any thoughts Patrese might have entertained about going for the lead. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Riccardo, indeed, was not even second by the apex of the first turn at Ste Devote. "Monte Carlo is the hardest place in the world for overtaking," Senna commented later. "Even at the start you can't do it, unless you're really squeezing it. I went for it at the last moment, so as not to give Riccardo any indication, because otherwise he would have closed the door. I got into second place that way, but the problem was to stop the car before Mansell turned in, because I was coming so quickly I thought he might not have seen me. But it was a good manoeuvre, and the only way I had to make a place. if Patrese had been ahead of me out of the corner, I doubt I would ever have got past him."</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Ayrton Senna: Mclaren-Honda</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Michael Schumacher (Benetton) also got ahead of Jean Alesi (Ferrari) in the opening seconds, but on the run down to Mirabeau the Ferrari moved by the Benetton once more. After one lap, it was Mansell, Senna, Patrese, Alesi, Schumacher, Gerhard Berger (McLaren), Martin Brundle (Benetton), and Ivan Capelli (Ferrari).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Already it was clear that only some misfortune separated Mansell from his first victory in Monte Carlo. At around a second a lap, the Williams pulled away from Senna, who was now coming under pressure from Patrese. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"I knew," Senna related, "there was no way to catch Mansell. Impossible, with the superiority of his car. At present we are not in a condition to win, and neither is anyone else. So what I tried to do was go hard enough to be in position to benefit if anything happened to Mansell, but still try to conserve my tyres - particularly in the early laps, on full tanks." </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After a while Senna began to lean on his tyres a little more, pulling a little way clear of Patrese. If he couldn't remotely keep Mansell in sight, at least he wanted the gap to be of manageable proportions. "I couldn't think of beating him, of course, but you never know what will happen at Monaco. Already in the early race I was planning for the late race ..."</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Seemingly lost cause: Senna maintains pursuit of Mansell </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As Mansell continued to go away at a second a lap, it looked a forlorn hope, but Ayrton was right in his thinking. And at least, for the first time that year, he was betwen the Williamses, rather than behind them. Further back, Alesi and Schumacher were involved in what may be termed as a torrid duel for fourth and splendid it inevitably was, given the mentality of the two youthful chargers. You had the impression the Benetton was quicker, but Alesi wasn't for losing his position.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For Mansell, all was silky smooth. At this point he was almost 10 seconds ahead of Senna, and Patrese was dropping back from the McLaren. Such excitement as there was continued to come from Alesi and Schumacher; on lap 12 they made contact at the Loews Hairpin, when Michael tried to force through a gap not quite as wide as a Benetton. Jean all but spun at the exit, but gathered it up, and duly maintained his fourth place. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Schumacher seemed to have gotten through the tussled unscathed. For Alesi though, the consequences were more serious. There was damage to the Ferrari's gearbox, which ultimately caused its retirement, on lap 29.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now began a long period during which there was little on which to concentrate apart from the redoubtable Schumacher. Once Alesi's Ferrari was out of the way, and he had a clear road before him, he quickly began to think about Patrese's third place. Down and down the gap came, until by lap 40 the Williams and Benetton were running together. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Patrese was an old campaigner, though. This was his 16th Monaco GP, and over time he had learned a lesson or two about the place. "I must say my car wasn't fantastic. There was a lot of oversteer, and it got worse through the race. So I was very busy when Schumacher caught up to me, and you could say I used my ..... experience to keep ahead of him."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now we had status quo for a long time. Mansell serenely led, once in a while setting a new fastest lap, as if to keep his concentration alive. Generally the lead over Senna was around 20 seconds, Ayrton continuing to drive hard, but only in the hope that something untoward would befall the Williams in the late stages. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On lap 60 the pendulum looked to swing even more definitively Mansell's way, for on that lap his lead was suddenly out to 30 seconds. At Mirabeau Michele Alboreto (Footwork), recently overtaken by Brundle, had spun, momentarily blocking the track. Next man through was the World Champion. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"I just managed to stop," Senna said. "Maybe half a metre from him. I didn't dare to move, to go around him, because he was moving himself. So I waited there a few seconds until I could get by. I lost maybe nine seconds, which was a little bit disappointing. Still, all I could do afterwards was push, push, push ...."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Status quo again .... until lap 71, when the pattern of the 1992 Monaco Grand Prix shifted fundamentally. Down to the chicane, and on toward Tabac, Mansell's Williams was off its familiar pace. It was slow progress for him to return to the pitlane and there he was fitted with a new set of tyres. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A pitstop at Monte Carlo is a lengthy affair, necessarily so, given the tight entry lane. Even so, Mansell thought the tyre change tardy, and said so afterwards. As he reached the pit exit, Senna hurtled by. For the first time that year something other than a Williams-Renault was in the lead of a Grand Prix. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What had happened to precipitate this late stop? In the tunnel, Mansell had a sideways moment, and concluded that probably he had a puncture, that he needed new tyres. But afterwards Goodyear said this was not the case. A wheel bearing then? "No" said Williams' Chief Designer Adrian Newey, "because if it had been, the replacement wheel would have been marked at the end of the race, and it wasn't." </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What, then? "Difficult to say," Newey commented. "It might have been a loose wheel nut, perhaps." Whatever, it brought Mansell in, and it lost him the lead. Now we had the prospect of a race at last, of the fastest car, on new tyres, chasing the man who had won Monaco for the last three years.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Change of fortune: Mansell hounds Senna through the chicane</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Even given the problems of overtaking at this place, Senna looked vulnerable. On lap 72 he led the Williams by 5.1</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">s</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">; next time around it was 4.3</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">s</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">, but a shattering lap by Mansell, almost two seconds faster than any other driver's best, brought that down to 1.9</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">s</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">. With three laps to go, the two cars were together and it seemed inconceivable that Senna could hold on. All around the circuit Mansell jinked and bobbed behind the McLaren, darting this way and that, looking for a gap that Senna never left. "I didn't really know what to do," Ayrton said, "because he was coming so much faster than I could go. My tyres were finished. They'd been good all the way, but this was the end of the race, and the grip was gone. And I was tired, too, obviously. It was hell to push at that point. I knew he would try everything. I knew we would be in for a major war in the last three laps. It was exciting but very difficult because he was several seconds faster than me and I had no grip to put the power down. It was like on ice. Fortunately I only had three or four laps that way. On the straights, it was like a drag race, you know, wheelspin in third and fourth gear....."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Last lap: Senna resolute on the racing line, follow-the-leader through up the hill, Senna inside for the curve into Casino, Mansell slightly wider; tight together through potential passing places but Mansell fractionally too far away. Tight around the Loews Hairpin, Mansell braking so hard he drew smoke from the left front tyre; accelerating from the crown of Mirabeau so ferociously the Williams bucked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The race now turned on the chicane after the tunnel. If Mansell could find enough momentum onto, through and out of the tunnel he might thrust past at the chicane. They entered the tunnel nose-to-tail and Senna maintained that on the flight to the chicane. Senna wrestled the McLaren through it. Along the harbour front Mansell swarmed, making a last inside-outside lunge into the twist of Rascasse, the left-right right before the finishing straight. Senna nursed the racing line and Mansell went wide, wide, wide to go around him. Not possible within the confines of Monaco. Senna won by 0.215 seconds.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Unrelenting pressure: Mansell glued to Senna's rear-wing</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Admirably, Mansell didn't complain about the fight that Senna put in. "I must compliment Ayrton, because he pretty well second guessed every move I tried to do and he was very fair, he was perfectly entitled to do what he did, to defend his position," he said. "It was regrettable that the tyre change took a few seconds longer than usual, because otherwise I could perhaps have rejoined the race without losing the lead. Also, the new tyres were very cold, and it took a lap or two to come to pressure and temperature. I can't remember driving harder than in those last few laps."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is always a special thing when the two best drivers of the day go hammer and tongs right down to the finish line. Of course the circumstances at Monaco were the only thing that allowed this duel to be what it was. Senna could not have put up such a defence on any other circuit. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nelson Piquet once said that racing around the streets of the tiny principality was like "riding a bicycle around your living room.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> However, Senna's absolute refusal to give up on the chance to win, no matter how remote that chance might have seemed early in the race. His stubborn determination to not allow himself to be demoralized into accepting second are what put him in a position to capitalize on Mansell's misfortune. There have not been many drivers in F1 who would have done the same and on that day Senna was rewarded, though he had to earn every inch of that victory. One which tied Graham Hill's record of five wins at Monaco. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Mansell summed it up best afterwards, "We gave it everything we had and more ... you have the race under control for seven-eighths of a distance, then you pick up a puncture. That's Monte Carlo for you. Then you have to drive ten to eleven tenths, and I think we were both driving way over the limit on the last six laps." All of this was said as Senna sat looking at his hand with a knowing, satisfied smile on his face.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This was the day when the unstoppable force battled the immovable object and it surely was a clash of titans which will always be remembered as one of the classic Monaco Grands Prix.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Sheer determination: Senna proves that luck is what you make it</i></span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-76219453091744289802013-11-09T22:43:00.001-05:002016-02-06T22:06:13.187-05:002011 Canadian Grand Prix - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>June 12, 2011</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he Ferrari's undertray pivoted on the Turn 4 exit kerb - and so did the whole outcome of the race. Fernando Alonso had just left the pits in this crazy delayed event and it was crucial that he keep the advancing Jensen Button (McLaren), whose intermediate tyres were now up to temperature having stopped the lap before, behind. So they accelerated up to up to Turn 3 together, the red car and the silver one, neither man prepared to give way. As they touched inthe no-man's land where Alonso's outside line for Turn 3 would have become the inside of Turn 4, Ferrari right-rear against McLaren left-front, their destinies diverged.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Defining moment - Alonso's misfortune was Button's salvation.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Had the Ferrari merely spun rather than getting itself beached, there would have been no safety car and Button's long, slow crawl back to the pits on his punctures tyre and damaged nose while everyone else remained flat-out would have left this a lap down and that would have been that; a plucky drive back into the points if he was lucky, an awkward explanation of his earlier coming together with team-mate Lewis Hamilton. But out came safety car number three and so the pieces of Button's miraculous drive began to lock into place: two collisions, a puncture, five pitstops, a drive through penalty and rejoining dead last with half of the race gone. Unlikely circumstances for a victory, you'd have to say. But that one piece of luck combined with Button's magical touch in such changeable conditions, his calm head, that he was the only man able to get the slicks up to temperature on the menacingly narrow dry line, the McLaren's excellent mechanical grip, DRS (drag reduction system); all these things conspired and Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) became, for once, a victim.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We had to wait for this gem of a Grand Prix. Wait a very long time, a two hour gap after 45 minutes of interrupted running. Standing water, heavy spray and concrete walls meant the first start came under the safety car. racing underway at the end of the fourth lap, Vettel sprinting off as was so familiar during the 2011 campaign, the two Ferraris in his wake. Immediately behind, on the run down to Turn 1 and the Virage Senna, Hamilton's impatience drew him into an implausible attempt inside of Mark Webber (Red Bull) who tried to give him room, but that space funnelled them rapidly down to contact, spinning both, as Nico Rosberg (Mercedes), Button and Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) passed by. Lewis was at least facing the right way and able to get going again in sixth. But Webber needed to spin turn and completed the lap in 13th.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA">Button got wide into Turn 3 and was immediately passed on either side by Schumacher and Hamilton. Next lap Hamilton tried for the outside of Schumacher into the hairpin, Michael seemed surprised to see him there, Lewis taking to the grass to avoid contact, getting onto the run-off,</span> allowing Button to re-pass. Hamilton remained in touch with his team-mate and at the end of the seventh lap Jensen got a bit crossed up into the final chicane, making him very slow onto the start/finish straight and Lewis was upon him, catching, catching, trying to second-guess as he was neatly tucked up beneath the other McLaren's rear wing. He opted for the surprise move to the left - which certainly seemed to surprise Jensen as he eased the same way to take up the normal line for the approaching right-hand kink. Hamilton was pincered between the pitwall and Button's left-rear. Lewis' left-rear hit the wall hard and ricocheted him into Button who corrected a violent twitch. "What was he doing?" shouted Button over the radio. Lewis limped on until being told by the team to retire it as they could see suspension damage.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Jensen Button - doggedly fought on after a series of setbacks.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hamilton's abandoned car triggered a safety car and Button used that as an opportunity to pit immediately for a go on the intermediate tyres. Further rain was holding off and a thin ribbon of a line beginning to form. This was the first time that the contemporary Pirelli wets had been raced, yet they seemed quite durable in such conditions but the track did now appear to be moving towards the intermediates, which would potentially be significantly faster. Besides stopping at that point enabled a damage check to be made tot he car. Behind the safety car for four laps, Button circulated in 12th place and as racing got underway again, with Vettel sprinting away from the Ferraris everyone was watching Button's times very closely. But that information was delayed as Jensen had been called into the pits for a drive-through for exceeding the target speed during the safety car period. With the field still so bunched and the pit entry road before the speed limit line so fast, the penalty only cost him two places. Once past a couple of slower cars, Button began to fly on those inters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Both Ferrari and Mercedes responded, bringing Alonso and Rosberg in from second and fourth respectively at the end of the 16th lap. Next time through Button was over a second faster than the leader, Vettel, who had the gap to Felipe Massa (Ferrari) out to over six seconds already. But there was a twist. The rain began to fall again. Red Bull and Ferrari realized it was better to keep Vettel and Massa out, still on their wets, but Mercedes stuck to their plan brought Schumacher in for intermediates.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On the 19th lap the heavens opened and the race once again went under the safety car, during which time the inters-shod Alonso, Rosberg, Schumacher and Button made corrective stops for wets, dropping them yet further down the order. Vettel, Massa and Webber stopped at this time too, changing their existing wets for new ones. After six laps under the safety car the deluge became yet heavier and the race was red-flagged. They lined up on the grid: Vettel, Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber), Massa, Nick Heidfeld (Renault), Vitaly Petrov (Renault), Paul di Resta (Force India), Webber, Alonso, Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber), Button, Rosberg, Schumacher. A two hour wait ensued as the storm passed. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>FIA safety car - a record six appearances.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nine laps behind the safety car - and with everyone therefore on full wets - laid the introduction for the spectacular second instalment of this race. As Bernd Maylander set the pack free at the end of the 34th lap, Vettel was again master of the restart and his advantage quickly ballooned as Kobayashi tenaciously fended off Massa and Heidfeld. Schumacher had peeled off into the pitlane as soon as the safety car came in, changing immediately onto intermediates. It was an inspired call, made by Michael himself. Button and Heidfeld followed suit on the following lap but everyone else was rather more cautious with Kobayashi, Massa, Petrov, Webber, Alonso and Rosberg staying out until the end of lap 36. Vettel's leading margin and strong pace encouraged Red Bull to keep him out for yet another lap.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Alonso was dropped behind Rosberg at the stops and now, as he accelerated back into the fray, he was being caught by Button on intermediates that were fully up to temperature and set on scything past. That's when they touched, leaving Alonso fatefully beached upon the kerb. Yet another safety car, it fifth appearance, allowed Button with his punctured tyre to get back without being lapped. Vettel took the opportunity to pit for inters and got underway again without losing the lead. Three laps later and the race was back on and Vettel was comfortably away from the squabbling Kobayashi and Massa. Button at this point was a solid last, having not even quite caught the tail of the pack as the safety car came in. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So with 57 percent of the race done, Vettel led and Button was last. The various safety cars had repeatedly trimmed back Vettel's lead, which he would confidently pull out, only to have his efforts wiped away. This had kept him within Button's reach, unlikely though that it looked at this stage. Button was on inspired form too and soon scything through backmarkers still closely-packed from the safety car. Meanwhile Vettel was doing the perfect job too, pulling away from Kobayashi at around 0.5<i>s</i> per lap, ensuring that he was looking after his tyres.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On the 46th lap race control allowed DRS to be enabled, judging that visibility was no longer an issue. Button was by now up to 12th and only 20<i>s</i> off of the lead because of the safety car and the relatively gentle pace that Kobayashi's Sauber was effectively imposing on everyone else, as Vettel simply gauged the gap back to him. However, Kobayashi oversteered wide out of Turn 8, and Massa went to his right but was baulked and Schumacher went to the left, passing them both in one move, promoting him up to second in the process. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Just as this was happening Webber, unable to find a way by Heidfeld pitted for the super-soft dry tyres. On his second flying lap he was in the 1<i>m </i>24<i>s</i>, 3<i>s</i> faster than the leader, by which time Button had stopped and made the change too. Schumacher, Massa and Heidfeld followed him in a lap later. Vettel, Kobayashi and the rest pitted for their super-softs on the 53rd lap. Vettel still led courtesy of his earlier margin, from Schumacher and Webber, with a sensationally fast Button, who's leapfrogged Kobayashi and Heidfeld by his earlier stop, catching the top three as a huge rate. With 15 laps to go he was just 9<i>s</i> off the lead. And fate would smile on the Briton again. On lap 55 Heidfeld slammed into the rear of Kobayashi and with carbon debris from the Renault all over the track, the sixth safety car was deployed, probably just the last little bit of fortune for Button, wiping out much of his deficit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It took five laps for the mess to be cleared and upon the restart Vettel was again up and away as Schumacher and Webber squabbled. Five laps into this restart Webber attempted to go down the inside of the German at the chicane, locked up and had to go straight-on. This compromised his speed on the following pit straight allowing Schumacher to stay ahead and Button to pass him. Now Button was all over the Mercedes and on the following lap used his DRS, KERS and long seventh gear to simply drive by Schumacher long before they reached the braking zone.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Relentless - Button closes on Vettel in the final stages. </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There were five laps left and Vettel was just 3.1</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">s</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> ahead of the flying McLaren. "I was probably too conservative after that last safety car," said Vettel, "and didn't open the gap enough when I could. I was just trying to hold the gap tot he cars behind, but then I saw Jensen come through." Too late, as it were. Seb realised he could not afford to let the McLaren get within the 1</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">s</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> DRS trigger zone and so began to turn on the pace. He was suddenly lapping 2</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">s</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> faster than before, and yet still Jensen was closing him down as the race built to a stunning crescendo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Still Button came. On the penultimate lap he was close enough for the DRS to trigger, allowing him to have a look into the chicane but Vettel held his line. That's how they headed into the final lap, prey and hunter. Into Turn 6, the pressure finally told as Seb's left rear slipped onto the damp line and in an instant was oversteering. He gathered it up with an angel's hands, but Jensen was through and gone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"This was 90 percent Jensen and 10 percent car," said McLaren's team principal, Martin Whitmarsh. "He had the confidence in these conditions to push and that got heat into the tyres that was elusive to others and it was just a of virtuous circle. His skill, calm, confidence and smartness today was just fantastic. That will go down as one of the all-time great grand prix win," and it was impossible to disagree. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Only one can win - superb performances from two great champions.</i></span></td></tr>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-91673767216907779372012-10-27T14:22:00.000-04:002016-02-06T22:05:12.069-05:002003 U.S. Grand Prix - Indianpolis Motor Speedway<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>September 28, 2003</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A</span>s race wins go the 2003 United States grand Prix was one of the best of Michael Schumacher's illustrious career. Certainly it was on of the most important, because it brought him within nine points of a sixth World Championship crown. How he got there though was even more impressive. The manner in which Schumacher had turned around his 2003 season was stunning. Early on in the year his Ferrari had the edge, but they suffered a mid-season slump (largely caused by Bridgestone's inadequacies) and only two races prior to Indy Schumacher was the underdog for the title. Juan-Pablo Montoya (Williams) looked virtually unstoppable for the Driver's title, having won in Germany and finishing second in Hungary.<br /><br /> It was fitting then, that Indianapolis was one of the German's best drives, even if the weather did play so comfortably into his hands. But with Schumacher, as always there was something more. During the 1995 season, Damon Hill once commented on his rival's superiority, "He's very impressive in every respect of the job. It is mental, it is physical and it is to do with teamwork. He has an advantage over everyone." For any sportsman, whose confidence and ability to perform consistently to the best of his ability depends so much on a pig-headed belief that he is the best, it was an astonishing admission for the Englishman to make. But, given the evidence, it was also an inescapable one and Schumacher carried this advantage throughout most of his career.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Schumacher: under pressure at Indy</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The grid at Indianapolis was an unusual mix that did the champion no favours, and read like the screenplay for a Hollywood motor racing blockbuster: the third-placed driver in the World Championship fight, Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren), was on pole position, the second-placed man, Montoya, was fourth and the leader, Schumacher, was only seventh. Räikkönen and Montoya appeared to be free and clear to fight for the title, with Schumacher in a vulnerable position. Yet by the first corner it was clear this was not the case. The German sprinted down the outside and, as team-mate Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) faded on the front row and Olivier Panis (Toyota) and Montoya lagged on the second, he pounced into third place behind the leader Räikkönen and brother Ralf (Williams). Already, Montoya’s hopes were looking shaky. He was only seventh.<br /><br />Up front Räikkönen put on another one of his brave displays that underlined the Finns' natural talent. Ralf went with him, and when it began to drizzle on lap two, their Michelin tyres offered them a significant advantage.<br /><br />Almost as fast as he had catapulted forward, Michael began to go backwards. He’d overtaken Panis for third on lap 5, but by lap 7 the battling David Coulthard (McLaren), Montoya and Fernando Alonso (Renault) had all clawed past, and Jarno Trulli (Renault) was menacing. Things stayed that way until Ralf pitted on lap 15, by which time the track was beginning to dry. He slipped down to twelfth.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2003 USGP - Despite an impressive start, Schumacher slipped to 12th. </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Coulthard, Montoya and Nick Heidfeld (Sauber) were the next to stop, on lap 17, followed by Alonso on lap 18, Räikkönen and Heinz-Harold Frentzen (Sauber) on lap 19, and Michael Schumacher and Trulli on lap 20. Only Frentzen gambled correctly on wets.<br /><br />Jensen Button (BAR) and Justin Wilson (Jaguar), running second and third behind an elevated Mark Webber (Jaguar), pitted for wets on lap 21, just as Michael and Heidfeld realized their mistakes and swept back into the pits as the heavens were opening.<br /><br /> Webber’s moment of glory on lap 21 did not last long after he crashed out. That left Coulthard and Räikkönen in a McLaren 1-2 on lap 22, but DC was still on dry Michelins and was soon hopelessly outpaced. Räikkönen pitted for wets, together with Montoya, Alonso and Trulli. Then Ralf Schumacher, running second, spun and bent his car’s rear suspension.<br /><br />All of this left Button leading a Grand Prix for the first time in his career (and BAR’s) and looking pretty comfortable while doing it. Initially Frentzen hounded him, but Jensen soon dropped the Sauber. Both, however, were being caught by Michael, who was revelling in conditions which suited his wet Bridgestones perfectly. The tide of the Championship, almost literally, had turned.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2003 USGP - Schumacher was virtually unstoppable in the wet conditions. </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The German got another bonus when Montoya carried out a drive-through penalty. He had received it on lap 21 after colliding with Barrichello in Turn Two on lap 3. Most observers felt that was a bit harsh, especially since Barrichello did not attach much blame to the Columbian but regarded it as a racing incident.<br /><br />Out front Button looked hugely confident, but this was David trying to fend off a very aggressive Goliath. after quickly disposing of Frentzen on lap 33, Schumacher was right with the BAR-Honda passing the pits on lap 37, and going into Turn One on lap 38 the red car went ahead. Button nevertheless kept a respectable distance to the Ferrari until his engine blew on lap 42. It was a tough break, just when Button's first podium finish seemed finally within his grasp.<br /><br /> Now Frentzen was second, and for the first time a Sauber led a Grand Prix as Schumacher pitted for fuel again on lap 48. When Frentzen did likewise a lap later Heidfeld moved to second, but the critical point now was that while the Ferrari led and the Saubers were second and third, Räikkönen in fourth place, was out of the title hunt. The track was drying, however, and gradually Räikkönen was able to start lapping at similar speed to Schumacher and moved ahead of the Swiss cars to take second place. It was the best he could do in the circumstances.<br /><br /> As far as the front end of the Grand Prix was concerned Schumacher was home and dry. Räikkönen was equally secure in second, Frentzen in third after an impressive drive, but Heidfeld could not hold off Trulli in the closing stages and succumbed on lap 43.<br /><br /> Further back, Montoya's desperate pursuit of Giancarlo Fisichella (Jordan) for sixth place finally reaped rewards. The Italian had again driven one of his unobtrusive but productive races, and would probably have stayed sixth but for problems during both his pitstops. On the first, on lap 21, the right front wheel stuck on; on the second, on lap 44, the fuel rig malfunctioned and tricked the team inot giving him twice the load he needed after there was initial doubt that the first load had gone aboard. The Columbian needed another place to stay in the game, however, and Heidfeld was far too far ahead.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Schumacher demoralised his rivals with a relentlessly stunning pace.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Coulthard's day ended on lap 46 with gearbox trouble. To add insult to that, afterwards Schumacher was critical of the Scot's defence of seventh place as they battled for position on lap 25. That, and an allegation from Panis that he had passed him on the pit-straight for third place on lap 5 under waved yellow flags for the Barrichello/Montoya incident, were the only things to mar Schumacher's day. Evidence, however, proved that the German was just ahead before the flags. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"This was a great and important win." Schumacher said. "It means a lot at this crucial stage in the championship, but the <i>tifosi</i> have carried us to this position."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The victory was the most dominant win of Michael Schumacher's career up to that point. Not in terms of the winning margin he recorded - he had won races by more than 18 seconds in the past - but he utterly demoralised his opposition at Indianapolis in a fashion that is rarely seen in any sport.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The race came to him in the damp middle section, when the superiority of his intermediate Bridgestones allowed him to overtake the Michelin runners at will. But what made this win so special was the patience he showed prior to the rain. Under extreme pressure, he showed none of the impetuousness of Adelaide 1994 or Jerez 1997 (both title deciders, he caused an accident on both occasions) and instead waited for the race to come to him - even allowing title rivals Montoya and </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Räikkönen to overtake early on.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Schumacher was now poised to break Fangio's amazing record.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Michael went into the final race of the year, at Suzuka, almost certain to clinch a record sixth world title, which would surpass teh legendary Juan-Manuel Fangio's tally of five and leave him undisputed as the most successful driver in Formula One history. Formula One's commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone said after Indianapolis, "I'll give you 5-2 that Michael will take the title."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Of course Schumacher, as always, delivered.</span>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-22349337916781882712012-10-13T11:06:00.000-04:002016-02-06T21:40:06.244-05:002008 Italian Grand Prix - Monza<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>September 14, 2008</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>he Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is one of those special places at which Formula 1 cars race. It is said by some that Formula One is a religion in Italy. If that is accurate, then Monza is it's cathedral, the Prancing Horse it's cross, and the tifosi are it's disciples.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The 1988 season however, left them little to worship. The McLaren-Hondas in the hands of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna were all but untouchable. They had won all the Grands Prix thus far that season, and there was little hope that the tifosi could wish for more than third place for their beloved Scuderia at the Italian Grand Prix. Their one shining star was Gerhard Berger. The young Austrian proved to be the main challenger, how ever hopeless it seemed, to the McLarens throughout the season and at Monza he had the added motivation that the team's venerable Commendatore, and founder, Enzo Ferrari passed away less than one month before. A victory in Italy would be a fitting tribute.</span></div>
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<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">1988 Italian GP - Berger conquers the almighty McLarens.</span> </span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Fate did not go McLaren's way that day. This was Monza after all. Prost was out just after half distance with a blown engine. Senna was well in front, but the Honda mechanics had to re-map his engine to ensure that it did not go up in smoke like the Frenchman's. With Senna running more conservatively Berger came back into the picture. Knowing that the Ferraris were catching him Senna came up to lap Jean-Louis Schlesser (Williams), sitting in for Nigel Mansell who was out sick, he didn't have time to waste getting past. Schlesser locked-up his tyres on the entry to the Rettifilo chicane. Senna, seeing the Williams wide to the right, well off line, went for the overtake. Schlesser made the first corner though and was on the apex of the second when Senna arrived at the same point. The two touched and Senna spun across the next kerb and was beached with rear wheels in the air. The two scarlet cars of Berger and Alboreto blasted past now first and second leaving the <i>tifosi</i> ecstatic for the last few laps until Berger took the chequered flag for a remarkable victory.</span></div>
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On that day, in Heppenheim, Germany, Sebastian Vettel was one year, two months and 8 days old.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Fast forward in time twenty years, and three days to the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. Gerhard Berger had become the co-owner of Scuderia Toro Rosso, and Vettel, now </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">a protégé of the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Red Bull Junior Team is his driver. The team (previously </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Minardi) was formed for the 2006 season to act as a junior/sister squad to the premiere </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">outfit Red Bull Racing. Vettel, the youngest driver to ever take part in a Grand Prix weekend and the youngest to score a World Championship point, joined the team during the latter half of the 2007 season replacing the American Scott Speed. Prior to him joining Toro Rosso the team's best result was an eighth place finish. In his sixth race for the team Vettel scored a remarkable fourth place finish in China. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">His talent and potential was plain for all to see, but he was driving a Toro Rosso after all and so it was felt that his true form would only be seen once Ron Dennis (McLaren) or Luca di Montezemolo (Ferrari) came calling. As it turned out, the Toro Rosso was all Vettel would need to fully display his innate ability.</span></div>
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At Monza the young German stunned everyone by capturing the pole position on Saturday in very wet conditions, becoming the youngest driver in Formula One history ever to do so. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) with Mark Webber (Red Bull) in third. An impressive performance for sure from Vettel, but few backed him to maintain this position for very long in the race. Most felt that both Kovalainen and Webber would overwhelm him early and battle for the win. Vettel was expected to score points or perhaps a podium at best .. he was racing in a Toro Rosso after all.</div>
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<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">2008 Italian GP - Vettel shows true pace to capture the pole position.</span></i></td></tr>
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On Sunday heavy rain prior to the race made the track very slippery, with more rain expected throughout the day. It was not too surprising then that all chose to start the race on the extreme wet weather tyres or that the race would begin behind the safety car. After the second lap the safety car pulled off into the pit lane whereupon Vettel got away perfectly. This, of course, was absolutely crucial. With the rain coming down as it was only the leader could properly see where he was going with any confidence. Sebastian made the most of this advantage, and in the early laps the Toro Rosso was as much as 20kph faster than any other on Monza's long straights. By lap 18, when he made his first stop, he had built up a lead of twelve seconds over Kovalainen.</div>
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By now the worst of the rain had passed, but still there was no question of switching from "full wet" tyres to intermediates. Vettel temporarily dropped to fourth place, but as Kovalainen, Mark Webber (Red Bull) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari) came in for their stops, he retook the lead, and thereafter never lost it.</div>
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By the time of Vettel's second stop, on lap 36, conditions had improved to the point that now intermediates were the thing to have, and this worked much to the interests of the drivers who started the race with a heavy load of fuel on board and planned only on a single stop. </div>
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<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Vettel easily held the lead and never came under the remotest threat. </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With virtually everyone on intermediates, Vettel's performance came into perspective. By lap 38, seventh placed Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) began lapping fastest recording a 1:32.869, more than a second faster than the leader Vettel. Hamilton's team-mate, Kovalainen, however could make no impression on the German.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Asked about the closing laps afterwards, Vettel said, "Sometimes I was thinking 'there is still P1 on my board, how can it be? I am fuelled to finish, there is nothing, no pit stops, so just keep it together.' Then I have to say I was extremely focussed every lap. I didn't lift and try to save the engine or the tyres or anything. Of course I was looking after my car. I was trying to keep attention because especially towards the end when there was kind of a dry line throughout some corners it was crucial to stay on that dry line. Just half a metre too wide and you can be off..."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He did keep it together and was dutifully able to maintain the twelve second gap to the chequered flag becoming the youngest Grand Prix winner in Formula One history. This astounding victory also marked the first win by Scuderia Toro Rosso, who were in the process the first non-Ferrari Italian-based team to win since 1957.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How on earth did this kid and this tiny team pull off such a remarkable victory? There had to be a catch somewhere, didn't there? During the race Vettel set only the fourteenth fastest lap. The only retirement of the race was Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India), so all the top teams and drivers made it to the end. The drivers of the primary Red Bull outfit, Webber and David Coulthard could only manage eighth and sixteenth respectively. This was not luck, nor a fluke. Vettel and Toro Rosso undeniably deserved this victory fair and square. Perfect strategy, excellent decision making, measured aggression and flawless driving in extremely difficult conditions is how the minnow ate the shark(s) that day. And it was beautiful to see.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Those who sold Vettel short before the race witnessed first-hand what this young talent was truly capable of ... even with inferior machinery.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Obviously I had a bit of an advantage in the beginning when I was probably the only one with trouble-free vision." He said after the race. "But it was never easy. I knew that I would stop earlier than the others. I didn't know how much earlier, so I was pushing very hard . Sometimes I nearly lost the car - I was always trying to drive on the edge."</span></div>
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<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Remarkable victory - Vettel becomes the youngest GP winner in history.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And while the maturity of his drive was impressive, his celebration over the radio and on the podium clearly displayed the enthusiasm that is the hallmark of youth. This, mixed with the magical atmosphere that is Monza made for something truly special. The uninhibited joy on the face of a winner, and a lovely thing too, to see Berger, who won at Monza twenty years earlier, back on that very same podium, now in the role as a team owner and cheered to the rafters by the tifosi, who do not forget.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Berger had no doubts about the ability of his young star. "His intelligence and the way he works is great," he said. "I have to say I really underestimated the potential of this boy."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Boy indeed, But at twenty-one years, two months and eleven days old, and with just 22 Grand Prix starts to his name, there was very little that could be described as immature about Sebastian Vettel. The fact he won the Italian Grand Prix at all was startling enough, but the manner in which he took this victory was even more remarkable. He won from the front, on merit, beating all of the established aces with a measured, calm performance reminiscent of the great drivers of the past. One had to remind themselves that this was all new to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"... it feels just great. The last lap, the lap after the chequered flag, the whole podium ceremony, it was all great.</span>"</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Giant Killers: Berger and Vettel share a moment on the podium.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was new as well to the little team from Faenza, Italy ... and the young German realized this to. "I have seen every possible angle of the grid now and it is difficult when you always start from the back and you have to fight your way. You might finish a race in P15 without anyone noticing, but you still might have done a very good job, so you can still be happy and you can walk out of the paddock and be proud of yourself and the team. Now we can be proud of ourselves, celebrating a victory. It is great. To say these words together it sounds unbelievable. From where we started last year the team, the mentality has changed so much. The atmosphere is fantastic. Everybody is extremely motivated. When I jumped in the car before the race everybody said 'ok, now destroy them or push like hell.' All the guys were joking and were happy and looking forward. In that sense you could say we had the balls to do it today. Compared to BMW, or McLaren-Mercedes, or Ferrari we haven't got the amount of manpower at home in the factory .... we have about 160 people working in Faenza and everyone today feels very special and can feel very special. I am one of them."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was an extremely exceptional performance. One that even their rivals were happy to acknowledge. "I'm delighted for him," said Ron Dennis. "Whatever the circumstances, and they weren't easy in practice or the race, he got the job done. It's easy to create reasons why, but at the end of the day he did a fantastic job, and he deserved to win. I'm pleased for him and Gerhard."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Great drivers are evident no matter what car they drive. And while Italy 2008 was the minnow's day of days, it was clear that Vettel's talent and his ability to galvanize the team around him was the crucial factor in achieving victory.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-55922883388659536242012-04-02T22:18:00.000-04:002016-02-06T21:28:33.863-05:001986 Mexican Grand Prix - Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>October 12, 1986</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">T</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">here is an outward effervesence about Gerhard Berger which sometimes disguises the sheer steel and determination which suffuses his character. By any standards Berger's ascent to the upper reaches of the F1 community was meteoric. He first sprang to prominence in the European Alfasud championship, finishing seventh at his first attempt, then breezed quickly through Formula Ford and Formula Ford 2000 before making his mark in the hotly contested 1983 European Formula 3 championship. Although he did not win any of the individual races, he managed a couple of second places to finish joint seventh in the final points table, equal with Martin Brundle.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He then distinguished himself with some energetic drives in the European Touring Car championship at the wheel of a BMW 635. These performances attracted the attention of ATS F1 team boss Gunther Schmid, who duly invited him to Zandvoort for a test session. Berger attacked the task with an over-enthusiasm and confidence which, in retrospect, made even him shudder slightly years later. But he certainly made and a favourable impression and was invited to drive for the team at the wheel of a second car in two world championship rounds.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">1984 Italian GP - Berger scores an impressive sixth place in the ATS D6.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On home ground in Austria Berger failed to finish, but at Monza a few weeks later he stormed home sixth in the Italian Grand Prix. Sadly, as he had not originally been entered in the championship as a regular contestant he was not awarded the point normally given to a sixth place finisher.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Barely 25 years old, Berger's racing horizons seemed to be widening dramatically, but his racing career very nearly ended that winter in a serious road accident near his home at Worgl, not far from Innsbruck. He fractured a vertebra in his neck and spent most of the off-season recuperating. He recovered in time to join Thierry Boutsen in the Arrows-BMW line-up, however, highlighting his 1985 season with a fifth place in South Africa and sixth in Australia.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For 1986 he switched to the emergent Benetton-BMW team (formerly Toleman). The team was owned by clothing magnate Luciano Benetton and now with Benetton money and BMW power the team was well placed to demonstrate far more potential to challenge the top outfits of the day. It was with the B186 that Berger really began to mature, displaying considerable flair and expertise. He scored a brilliant third place in San Marino and then led his home grand prix commandingly at the Österreichring, only to be thwarted by battery problems. Unfortunately reliability seemed to be the Achilles heel of the B186 that season. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1986 Season - Berger makes his mark</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Round 15 in Mexico was to be the penultimate grand prix of the season, and excitement was high. Not only was this the first Mexican grand prix since 1970, the championship battle was approaching it's climax. Nigel Mansell (Williams) was leading the driver's standings by 10 points over his team-mate Nelson Piquet (Williams), with Alain Prost (McLaren) and Ayrton Senna (Lotus) also in the hunt. The Englishman could clinch the title if he were to win or finish ahead of both Piquet and Prost. Considering the fact that Mansell was suffering from Montezuna's Revenge at the time, this seemed like a tall order.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">With all of the Benetton's reliability woes Berger was not in the fight for the championship, but in Mexico he was ready to steal the limelight from the contenders. This race was all about tyre management, as the searing heat on race day morning revealed heavy tyre wear during the warm-up. Especially so, for the Goodyear runners. Berger, and Benetton however, were running on Pirelli tyres.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The four title contenders all qualified at the sharp end of the grid. Piquet won the pole position, with Senna joining him on the front row. Next was Mansell and Berger, then Riccardo Patrese (Brabham) and Prost. At the start Senna led off the line from Piquet and Berger. Mansell's Williams however remained motionless. It appeared almost as if his car was not in gear when the lights went gear. The Englishman fumbled in the cockpit and finally managed to find a gear, but by that time the bulk of the grid had swarmed past him and he found himself down in nineteenth position.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Senna and Piquet staged a thrilling duel into the first esses complex. With Senna on the inside line and Piquet outside the two braked as late as possible, but Piquet used the strength of his Honda engine to keep enough of the outside line to give him the advantage for the following left bend and the elder Brazilian assumed the lead. Berger in third, was being pressured by Prost and Stefan Johannson (Ferrrari). He was, however, able to open a gap to Prost and Johannson during the first few laps and as he began closing on the leaders Senna mounted a counter attack on Piquet.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The pace of the first laps was torrid. Piquet and Senna battling for the lead. Prost closed on Berger and used the power of his TAG Porsche engine to pass the young Austrian on the start-finish straight, and Mansell, charging now, was up to eleventh. But all this was taking it's toll on he Goodyear runners.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Mansell had to pit on lap 13 with heavily blistered tyres and by lap 22 the order became static at the front .... Piquet, Senna, Prost and Berger. Each could not close on the car in front for fear of losing grip in the corners and prematurely wear their tyres out.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Prost was the first of the leaders to pit for new tyres on lap 31, and a lap later, Piquet was in. Senna, now free of Piquet began building a gap to Berger, but there were clear signs of blistering on the left rear tyre of the Lotus. Despite this Senna put in some blindingly fast laps before pitting for tyres on lap 36, and he was able to rejoin in second position. The order now was Berger, Senna, Piquet and Prost. Mansell at this point had clawed his way up to eighth.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">1986 Mexican GP - Pace and composure allowed Berger to control the race from the front.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">On new tyres now, Senna set a series of fastest laps, but Berger was able to maintain a decent pace, relative to the charging Brazilian and in this way he could control the race from the front. It slowly became clear that Berger could manage the Pirellis far better than his rivals on their Goodyears and it was perhaps possible that he would try to run the race without stopping.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">This strategy had its pitfalls, of course. If Berger misjudged his pace, or was pressured into going faster than the Pirellis' could manage then a pitstop late in the race would spell disaster, dropping him down the order with little time to recover. But Gerhard was doing a magnificent job. By lap 44 he had a 25 second lead and was stretching his advantage. Piquet had to pit again for tyres and Senna's pace was dropping now due to tyre degradation. The Brazilian pitted six laps later and Berger's lead grew to 35 seconds over new second place man Prost. But the Frenchman ad well had to soon pit again for tyres.<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-size: x-small;">1986 Mexican GP - Berger rewards Benetton with their first Grand Prix victory.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That is really how the race played out. Berger majestically driving on in a flawless effort, while his rivals could not seem to find any solution to their tyre degradation woes. At the flag it was Berger, 27 seconds, from Prost, Senna, Piquet and Mansell. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was an incredibly mature and disciplined drive, and while it is clear that the Pirellis offered Berger a decisive advantage it was the Austrian who managed those tyres and fully maximized that advantage. The Benettons were not the only Pirelli runners in the field, and at the finish, the nearest rival on similar rubber was Philippe Alliot (Ligier) in sixth, a lap down.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Even before his victory in Mexico, Berger's signature was already dry on a Ferrari contract to drive for the Scuderia, alongside Michele Alboreto, in 1987. This clearly illustrated how superbly Gerhard had driven in 1986. In fact, he scored all but two of the Benetton team's points that season, an accomplishment made all the more impressive when you consider that he had less than two years of Formula One experience.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">An excellent driver and a terrific personality, it was always wonderful to see Gerhard Berger win. He was the kind of driver that you could not help but cheer for. For me he was one of Grand Prix racing's most interesting and likeable characters.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-72621355730997643862012-03-08T19:56:00.002-05:002016-02-06T21:27:11.487-05:001986 Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: large;">W</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA">ith ten of the sixteen races done, the 1986 World Championship battle was about to go into its decisive phase in</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span lang="EN-CA" style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span lang="EN-CA"><country-region w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Hungary</place></country-region>. Nigel Mansell (Williams) was leading the championship with 51 points. Hot on his heels were Alain Prost (McLaren) with 44, looking to defend his title, Ayrton Senna (Lotus) with 42 and Nelson Piquet (Williams), who was back with the leaders after his victory at Hockenheim, which brought him up to 38 points.</span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the first qualifying session, Mansell immediately showed his confidence by driving the fastest lap by far. With a time of 1:30.516, the Briton was nearly a second faster than his teammate Piquet, while qualifying ace Ayrton Senna, who had scored five pole positions in the first ten races of the season, clocked a time 1.7 seconds slower than Mansell. Gerhard Berger (Benetton) set the fourth fastest time in the first session, helped by his Pirelli tyres.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlMTbKGFsqJt8FC4M8x4t3Ch9M4pYXyHxQ3boQKHrPJRwEJg_EU84lAcrWBWG8lK9RBB0wso5Wrr1nFq5NF6sG-lQxep6cc-K35b3qIbIcdA0ANHfnglZ37tdfHf8PplsRLZna0B27f9k/s1600/Piquet+1986+-+Williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlMTbKGFsqJt8FC4M8x4t3Ch9M4pYXyHxQ3boQKHrPJRwEJg_EU84lAcrWBWG8lK9RBB0wso5Wrr1nFq5NF6sG-lQxep6cc-K35b3qIbIcdA0ANHfnglZ37tdfHf8PplsRLZna0B27f9k/s200/Piquet+1986+-+Williams.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Piquet - Back in the fight for the title.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On Saturday, Senna had sorted out how the track worked, scraping a massive 2.8 seconds off his Friday time to claim pole in 1:29.450. Prost also found his rhythm, improving by over 3 seconds to claim third. Between the two wasn’t Mansell, but Piquet. The Brazilian put his Williams next to Senna with a 1:29.785. Where most drivers found at least one and a half seconds on Saturday, Mansell improved only by half a second, moving him from provisional pole to fourth.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicm_Qb5-mh3LKmXLkzFktbgE5v_E2Ba74SzQVKWQQ4keRlIzZNnOJhpqxSiVRQw1k1zLUXnlztJ_sUGFiYh7ocUcWFJsOK5aZe2kc8mtPfQIB3_t7p_1hjY93NMzWjQPGAPZJKUhyYONMm/s1600/Hungarian+GP+1986+-+Senna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicm_Qb5-mh3LKmXLkzFktbgE5v_E2Ba74SzQVKWQQ4keRlIzZNnOJhpqxSiVRQw1k1zLUXnlztJ_sUGFiYh7ocUcWFJsOK5aZe2kc8mtPfQIB3_t7p_1hjY93NMzWjQPGAPZJKUhyYONMm/s200/Hungarian+GP+1986+-+Senna.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Senna - On pole for the sixth time.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the race, it was clear, right from the start that this was to be a two man show. The two Brazilians on the front row pulled away, and were only seen again when they showed up in the rear-view mirrors of the drivers they lapped. From the start, even Piquet had trouble keeping up with Senna. The Lotus driver took off with an amazing 1:35 opening lap. Senna managed to create a small gap of about three seconds during the opening laps of the race, but Piquet counter attacked, and after eight laps he was right back under Senna’s gearbox.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For the next four laps, Piquet tried several times to outbrake Senna, but the tight circuit made such a manoeuvre extremely difficult. However, through sheer persistence the Williams driver finally squeezed through on lap twelve, and immediately began striking a gap. While Mansell, Prost and Rosberg didn’t drive badly, the record crowd of 200,000 was in awe with the display the two Brazilians were showing them. In three laps, Piquet increased his lead to five seconds.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA015bUhGJOsI4MrEPRQBbPVViDPdcWYJNDxzcLrNywIQGrGmX2ZbZReOT0G1igHN3M6D17R8CySbd7Zyo58vkVy3DqPhIt2L0V3RrQY0-h9qWwUybG1SNc8WGzPcTfHs0ZlYC7HdNytzB/s1600/Piquet+1986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA015bUhGJOsI4MrEPRQBbPVViDPdcWYJNDxzcLrNywIQGrGmX2ZbZReOT0G1igHN3M6D17R8CySbd7Zyo58vkVy3DqPhIt2L0V3RrQY0-h9qWwUybG1SNc8WGzPcTfHs0ZlYC7HdNytzB/s400/Piquet+1986.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Piquet chased Senna down and took the lead before the pitstops.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Then, on lap 18, Senna made a rare mistake, dropping no less than three seconds in one lap. Immediately following this error, the Lotus driver recovered magnificently, driving all out for several laps. He set a blistering pace, while Piquet was suffering from excessive tyre wear. By lap 25 Senna had brought the gap from eight back to three seconds, only to fall back to seven seconds again when Piquet pulled out another fast lap, with his tyres seemingly coming back to him.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After 35 laps, Piquet came in for his pitstop. At that time, his advantage was only five seconds, and so Ayrton Senna easily took over the lead. The young Brazilian then went full throttle until his own pitstop in order to build the maximum benefit from the laps between Piquet’s pitstop and his own. Senna’s plan succeeded perfectly and when his pitstop was completed on lap 42, he came out in the lead with seven seconds advantage. What followed was a frantic battle between the two countrymen on fresh rubber posting nearly identical laptimes for nearly ten consecutive laps.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmH7Czl59Q7Yrt7jxWu1lIhmH5ijhr1IxY5SnXfLAS9DZ07E19lA3kFmBH-AHOar94toAoAKbN3E-XNnaDVIV0OXwbtKHcamdb-veWcxCihCtfHyZ2ddrzAohPCq6yUmwObDFdImZJ5Yc/s1600/Hungary+1986+-+Senna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitmH7Czl59Q7Yrt7jxWu1lIhmH5ijhr1IxY5SnXfLAS9DZ07E19lA3kFmBH-AHOar94toAoAKbN3E-XNnaDVIV0OXwbtKHcamdb-veWcxCihCtfHyZ2ddrzAohPCq6yUmwObDFdImZJ5Yc/s400/Hungary+1986+-+Senna.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Senna drove magnificently during the pitstop phase to retake the lead.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By then it became clear that Senna’s car wasn’t 100%. In a period of five laps, Piquet was able to close the gap Senna and began calmly stalking his younger countryman. As lap 53 began, with the Lotus and Williams passing the start-finish line nose to tail, with Piquet perfectly placed in Senna's slipstream. The young Brazilian, despite being in only his third full season of Grand Prix racing, instantly recognized what the wily Piquet was planning and deftly positioned his Lotus in the centre of the racing line to protect his position as best he could. As Piquet went for the inside line, Senna left him room but closed the gap enough to make Piquet's passing attempt as difficult as possible. They both went deep into the braking zone, leaving it all until the last possible second. Piquet reached the corner first, but the inside line that Piquet was on, that Senna pinned him to, was the dirty portion of the track and as Piquet got on the brakes his car immediately began slithering on the edge of adhesion. He could not make the apex of the corner, sliding wide, and this left the door open for Senna to retake the lead. It was riveting stuff from two brilliant racing drivers.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Piquet immediately slotted himself behind Senna once more and calmly took up the chase. In two laps Piquet was again under Senna's gearbox as they went across the start-finish line. The Honda power in the Williams ensured that Piquet quickly reeled in Senna's Lotus. Senna once again expected Piquet to dive for the inside and as before positioned his car in the centre of the racing line. Just as he did so, Piquet dove instead for the outside line. It was a bold move and Senna immediately realized the ruse and attempted to close the gap to the outside line in order to keep Piquet there through the turn. Piquet's bravery and determination, however, was not to be denied and with his wheels millimetres from the grass he went past the Lotus. Again the two daredevils left the braking until the last possible moment, Lotus on the inside, Williams on the outside. Again Piquet teetered on the edge of control, the back end of his car stepping out as he entered the corner, but this time he kept it together, made the apex and left no room for Senna to counter attack. It was an amazing display of car control and a stupefying pass that can surely be considered one of the best ever. In short, it was a work of art. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInOYZx4qRwvUF9ZzUyJ4vir-EiBNsS22Hk6YKtAG6FabHOpIlLKxyk5pDhzqKay1FALSJV7m7BVVbl1XRkPickLslAM-zT5jTMCYobudr0Bf0d2xYoa9UlrMm0vNyT8vUaEb9iy-D4lrB/s1600/1986+Hungarian+GP+-+Piquet+Senna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInOYZx4qRwvUF9ZzUyJ4vir-EiBNsS22Hk6YKtAG6FabHOpIlLKxyk5pDhzqKay1FALSJV7m7BVVbl1XRkPickLslAM-zT5jTMCYobudr0Bf0d2xYoa9UlrMm0vNyT8vUaEb9iy-D4lrB/s320/1986+Hungarian+GP+-+Piquet+Senna.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Piquet goes around the outside of Senna into Turn 1.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With the job done, Piquet opened a small lead of about four seconds and looked free and clear at last. However, Senna responded yet again and what followed was a stunning race to the flag as the Williams and Lotus raced through the Hungarian hills faster and faster. There was little traffic left, as the number of cars had been reduced to just ten during the race. Each time one of the two leading Brazilians would improve their fastest lap, the other would respond right away with one of their own.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ten laps from the end, Senna finally got his break as Piquet ran into backmarkers. The Williams driver posted a 1:35 and a 1:36, while Senna was running 1:34s at the time, allowing the Lotus driver to catch up for a grand finale. For the next seven laps there was rarely more than a foot between the two, but Piquet didn’t give Senna a chance to pass. On lap 73 Piquet set the fastest lap of the race with a ripping 1:31.001, two tenths faster than Senna during the previous lap and 1.6 seconds faster than the third fastest driver, Keke Rosberg (McLaren).</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On lap 74 the great battle all of a sudden ended in an enormous anti-climax. When Piquet blasted past start-finish, the crowd waited and waited for Senna to show. The black Lotus finally showed, eight seconds behind Piquet’s Williams. As they came around again, Piquet’s victory was clear. The Williams driver had stopped pushing as Senna dropped yet another four seconds. The final lap saw Senna even registering a 1:40 lap as he crawled across the line to claim second. Piquet’s teammate and bitter rival Mansell came third, a lap and 40 seconds behind.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBkF8ZgxAcByvyNpQ1oWCUWWXpYKEpXa8ZjD0PXqHmGjzsYDt3ETFvP5MpVpkfOcX4tPPxVJu6m1nbRI_TgfEbAYM2XR_RI8CMcP2IpvL0YU_xjw2f61WzCSXc0vmUuvekX1e1VxApdba/s1600/Hungary+1986+-+Podium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEBkF8ZgxAcByvyNpQ1oWCUWWXpYKEpXa8ZjD0PXqHmGjzsYDt3ETFvP5MpVpkfOcX4tPPxVJu6m1nbRI_TgfEbAYM2XR_RI8CMcP2IpvL0YU_xjw2f61WzCSXc0vmUuvekX1e1VxApdba/s400/Hungary+1986+-+Podium.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">A thrilling display by both, but the wily veteran wins the day.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This was the first of many tough battles between two arch rivals. The rivalry between Piquet and Senna was not a subtle matter. This was <city w:st="on">Sao Paulo</city> vs <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Rio de Janeiro</place></city>, the old fox vs the young gun. Piquet was burning with desire to show the new kid he was still the master, but at the same time he knew that Senna was going to capture his throne as most popular Brazilian driver. This rivalry showed in every inch of the first Hungarian Grand Prix.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ayrton Senna, along with Alain Prost, indeed overshadowed their rivals in the Eighties to a great extent. The only man who ever really came close was Piquet, who won three World Championships and 23 Grands Prix. He was a driver full of guile and cunning with a talent that surely places him among the very greatest drivers ever in Formula One. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-33072510358180063012012-03-04T07:53:00.000-05:002016-02-06T21:26:05.466-05:001999 French Grand Prix - Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>June 27, 1999</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A</span>s Heinz-Harold Frentzen limped painfully around the paddock at Magny-Cours, he did not look like a man about to win a Grand Prix. The bones in his knee that he broke in a crash at the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks earlier were still far from healed, but if his leg was sore, he said, it did not affect him in the car. With a broken knee, the race cannot have been easy, but Frentzen was more than a match for anything the French Grand Prix threw at him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On the surface the race seemed quite unremarkable. They raced in torrential rain for most of the afternoon Rubens Barrichello (Stewart) in front for the bulk of it; Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) against his brother Ralf (Williams); Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) against everyone; Eddie Irvine (Ferrari) through the field - but ultimately the race came down to the relatively mundane question of fuel strategy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Not that Frentzen felt it to be mundane. When you consider that he made it through on one stop, running heavier fuel loads than the two-stop opposition at virtually every stage of the race, yet still maintaining their pace, you cannot help but feel that there was more to this race than simple mathematics. Frentzen was helped in his cause by two factors: one, it was wet for all but the opening phase, which slowed the race down and made everything less physical; and, two, the race was neutralized for a while by the Safety Car. That gave him a breather and helped the fuel consumption. More than strategy, therefore, it came down to design. The Jordan Mugen-Honda 199 was built as a car that could run one-stop to the finish. The Stewart-Ford was not. The Stewart was designed with a smaller, two-stop, fuel tank. In the conditions that prevailed in Magny-Cours, that is what beat them.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lrf-VuTKuszmH_71JAbPBKKege2wRVubYzUDHmG05dNWQLH6jcD7t3B5YTu26dtMNw4X4qIZyRbrXfOjcPp61aLc5pj6gvlF9EaJPjt1XzqrjcB6qJKsUPYIACX8Ci6PAbUFkrUxYVlc/s1600/1999+Magny-Cours+-+Frentzen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lrf-VuTKuszmH_71JAbPBKKege2wRVubYzUDHmG05dNWQLH6jcD7t3B5YTu26dtMNw4X4qIZyRbrXfOjcPp61aLc5pj6gvlF9EaJPjt1XzqrjcB6qJKsUPYIACX8Ci6PAbUFkrUxYVlc/s400/1999+Magny-Cours+-+Frentzen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-size: x-small;">1999
French GP - Frentzen drove brilliantly on a one-stop
strategy.</span></span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Designer Gary Anderson is the common thread here. He was involved in the early concept of the 1999 Jordan - and then switched to Stewart, where he took over the Alan Jenkins/Egbhal Hamedy design. By then, it was probably too late for him to design a bigger tank, even if he had wanted to. He would have known, though as the race drew towards two hours, that Jordan had them beaten. All Heinz-Harold Frentzen had to do was not make a mistake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It wasn't easy. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Frentzen did a
great job in qualifying, missing the vital, opening minutes but still going out
early enough to secure a position near the front. Frentzen drives well in the
wet, searching out the grip and using unconventional lines, but he was very
prone to locking a wheel here and brushing a kerb there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">That Sunday, though, he kept
it all together and Jordan quickly adjusted to a one-stop strategy. Frentzen's
race was thereafter comparatively trouble-free.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">He didn't, for instance, have
a problem with his radio, like Michael Schumacher. Nor did he have a problem
with wet or dry settings - again as Michael did. The Ferrari was all over the
place in the opening, dry laps of the race. Hakkinen was charging, and so was
Irvine, who'd been in neutral for the start, but Michael was ... just there ...
tagging along but not making any impression.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWFHQR3hUkn_NiCtey40k_O4C2GWR735NGiEEmpglvjPECeQhMlb-KAqHovQStDcootc8DRjri6SyTFf5DOvE67LrMsoLpFXM2D4Y4CCFGWa2L-M-hPLujQ56SSu48Jq2wsoSd3BQlzUg/s1600/1999+French+GP+-+Barrichello.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipWFHQR3hUkn_NiCtey40k_O4C2GWR735NGiEEmpglvjPECeQhMlb-KAqHovQStDcootc8DRjri6SyTFf5DOvE67LrMsoLpFXM2D4Y4CCFGWa2L-M-hPLujQ56SSu48Jq2wsoSd3BQlzUg/s400/1999+French+GP+-+Barrichello.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-size: x-small;">Barrichello - on pole, but needed one pitstop too many in
the race.</span></span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He didn't have a complete electrical failure, like
David Coulthard (McLaren), who drove brilliantly past Barrichello into the lead
and looked as though he was going to win, pulling away. Schumacher's electrical
problem, meanwhile, lost him eight seconds on one lap. He was even forced to
swap steering wheels in his pit stop. The problem seemed to have improved, but
not enough to prevent brother Ralf muscling past in the closing stages.</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Frentzen didn't spin, like Mika Hakkinen, who executed
a quick 360 as he left the Adelaide hairpin. Jean Alesi spun out of a points
finish just before the Safety Car emerged and Jacques Villeneuve (BAR),
Alexander Wurz (Benetton), and Alex Zanardi (Williams) all spun while they were
trailing the Safety Car.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nor did Heinz have a chaotic pitstop, like Eddie
Irvine. The Ferrari mechanics were not ready for him and bolted dry tyres on
instead of wets. Frentzen's pitstop was surely longer that he anticipated it
would be ... but that was only because Mike Gascoyne, Jordan's Technical
Director, had switched to the one-stop strategy.</span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He didn't collect a slower car in the pitlane, as
Damon Hill (Jordan) did. The impact punctured a rear tyre and Damon lost an age
- and then the electrics limping back to the pits.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">And he didn't have to make that second pitstop, as Barrichello did - as
they all did. Rubens qualified brilliantly on the pole, taking to the track
while everyone was asleep, and his defence of the lead, under pressure from the
McLarens, was sensational. Ralf was a great fourth, racing Michael hard, and the Ferraris were fifth and sixth.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Rr6ca9gjTnmUJCyN9PUfbZehw68vS8TLiXYN-PPmGuVtRl1GvHcjp8QUyehOzEe24Ul_4uJG3fJCyI2txXSBfilaYDdN1uW7ngABaNdKlbamMRyDvJiBNG7ToFWL9GEIIFQfd3mhES41/s1600/1999+French+GP+-+Frentzen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Rr6ca9gjTnmUJCyN9PUfbZehw68vS8TLiXYN-PPmGuVtRl1GvHcjp8QUyehOzEe24Ul_4uJG3fJCyI2txXSBfilaYDdN1uW7ngABaNdKlbamMRyDvJiBNG7ToFWL9GEIIFQfd3mhES41/s400/1999+French+GP+-+Frentzen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Frentzen kept the pace and was error free in tough conditions.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In many ways, then, it was that simple. Except, again,
that it wasn't, for here was a guy who'd had a huge accident two weeks before,
when the right front brake of his Jordan had exploded at something like 190
kph. He'd hit the wall hard in Montreal, at well over 7g, and his legs in the
cockpit had banged heavily against one another. But it was mind over matter in
France. You just needed to watch Frentzen through Grande Courbe, the fast
sweep at the end of the Magny-Cours pit straight, to see each lap mesmerizing
evidence of a confidence level miles higher than the storm clouds that were
soaking the track.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The entry to the corner, fifth gear and 275 kph in the dry, maybe 210
kph in the wet, is framed by a wall to the right, parallel to the straight.
Every driver, even Michael Schumacher, gave the wall a few inches of respect as
they turned in. Apart from Heinz-Harold that is. Each lap he would make you
wince as he ran the Jordan into a gap measurable only by laboratory equipment,
the better to squeeze just a little more track space, a fraction more speed
from the car. But it looked natural, flowing, as though we wasn't even placing
it there by sight or reference, but by feel or something even more ephemeral.
It made the others appear to be painting by numbers.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiGGiwLFM6D0IdaOb_UtO7yIo0dmeNC9in1fNZfvHl0Hx8q871xswFt5dXR_00ir1cbdMqdBGDwV0hCRM9jqUBY8gupmZGP2FEd5fHw0DP0QktreB9H7E2zEJvPDIP0s0urOvNAlk-_q9/s1600/1999+French+GP+-+Victory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLiGGiwLFM6D0IdaOb_UtO7yIo0dmeNC9in1fNZfvHl0Hx8q871xswFt5dXR_00ir1cbdMqdBGDwV0hCRM9jqUBY8gupmZGP2FEd5fHw0DP0QktreB9H7E2zEJvPDIP0s0urOvNAlk-_q9/s400/1999+French+GP+-+Victory.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Frentzen delivers, to the joy of the Jordan team</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Those millimetres shaved didn't necessarily win him
the French Grand Prix but they gave an insight into a couple of things. The
wholly different state of mind of Frentzen the Jordan driver to that of the
haunted, put-down Williams man; and the God-given caressing way he has with a
car that was just not apparent before. No question, Frentzen was at home with
the Jordan team. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Maybe it's simply the difference between a team that was looking to get a foothold on the first rung of success and one which had only
seen the view from the top for two decades. One was trying to cosset and tease a
performance, the other expected it as a given.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It all meant that tensed up within that Williams
cockpit for two seasons was a talent most people just never got to see. Many
began to think the ability which had so impressed Frank Williams just wasn't
there. Because once he'd climbed out of the Sauber and into the Williams , a
car which Jacques Villeneuve was taking to the world title, Frentzen looked
ragged. Unconvincing. Not only was the form not there, but the style suggested
it was never going to be.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxQLnxwX3krk7U7_4awZfdIQPJjUzNUutujhiV7GGZsICOxGwmK5WEuCIqbpOnwt0p363xOq4QHmjj6_jtwR1sDTJX3bgBtZRDZMMbBjQ5Q8NtWIaOrjCG3AlzpBhVdSl9w_JISnyamsW/s1600/1999+Magny-Cours+-+Victory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxQLnxwX3krk7U7_4awZfdIQPJjUzNUutujhiV7GGZsICOxGwmK5WEuCIqbpOnwt0p363xOq4QHmjj6_jtwR1sDTJX3bgBtZRDZMMbBjQ5Q8NtWIaOrjCG3AlzpBhVdSl9w_JISnyamsW/s400/1999+Magny-Cours+-+Victory.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Frentzen and Jordan, a combination of confidence and talent.</span></span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">A marvellous thing, confidence. And a team, like
Jordan, that knew how to engender it. Frentzen flourished at Jordan, where he
rewarded the team's faith in him with a string of fast and flawless drives. In
addition to his victory in France, he also won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The consistency that so eluded him at Williams now underpinned his bid to pull
off one of the biggest title upsets in F1 history. Had the Jordan not failed
while he was leading the European Grand Prix, at the Nurburgring, he would have
entered the final two races as joint leader in the championship.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A talent fully unleashed is a special thing to
witness, and when it happens to a genuinely nice person like Heinz-Harold
Frentzen it is even more enjoyable.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">France 1999 is where Frentzen rose from the ashes.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-33845459246424326522012-03-01T18:44:00.002-05:002016-02-06T21:25:06.781-05:001989 Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring<div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: right;">
<i style="font-family: times, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">August 13, 1989</span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: right;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">M</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">any doubted the wisdom of Nigel Mansell's move to
Ferrari, for the 1989 season, particularly over his ability to handle the unforgiving Italian press
and the tortuous internal politics of Maranello. But Mansall emerged as a
calmer, more relaxed driver and fitted into Ferrari instantly and
effortlessly. He couldn't have made a better start, of course. His victory
at the Brazilian Grand Prix was a dream debut for Mansell and John Barnard's
new chisel-nosed car which had proved so unreliable during testing and
practice. After that win he was dubbed "</span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Il Leone</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">" by the
Italian fans, the </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">tifosi</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">During the first half of the season the Ferrari was
rarely reliable enough to reward Mansell's efforts but he produced a typically
gritty drive at Silverstone, keeping the pressure on Alain Prost (McLaren) all
the way despite the McLaren's technical superiority. And then came his drive in
Hungary.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This memorable race had produced a shock even before
it started. Riccardo Patrese (Williams), whose only two previous pole positions
dated back to 1981 and 1983, produced an astonishing lap on Friday which would
stand even on Saturday. Ayrton Senna (Mclaren) qualified second, but the most
impressive qualifying performance, was a popular third place for Alex Caffi</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> (Dallara)</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">. Mansell found that the softer Goodyear
qualifying tyres were difficult to use correctly, and twelfth on the grid was
the best he could manage. However, there was an indication of what would follow
in the Sunday morning warm-up, when he topped the list</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcqYJ6utx9R3L3gp-6g3DZv85dTPw3lkSRk5QNa2OJ03U_oZe33qmqJVbMuvOKvuw22ayo5gTS9UEfWBEvZVvNU-IWRUTVaC7ItrCxzdLpEGpWJr2QgtMwpm8QN5IRgFaTxB2NbN8-eqx5/s1600/Mansell_Ferrari1989_res600.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcqYJ6utx9R3L3gp-6g3DZv85dTPw3lkSRk5QNa2OJ03U_oZe33qmqJVbMuvOKvuw22ayo5gTS9UEfWBEvZVvNU-IWRUTVaC7ItrCxzdLpEGpWJr2QgtMwpm8QN5IRgFaTxB2NbN8-eqx5/s400/Mansell_Ferrari1989_res600.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">1989 Hungarian GP - Mansell would battle from 12th on the grid.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The prospect of a duel to decide who would be in front
at the first corner, between Senna and Patrese, was something to look forward
to. Senna, who had battled here in 1988 for the rights of the person in pole
position to choose which side of the grid to start from, found himself on the
dirtier inside line in 1989. But although he almost managed to squeeze inside
Patrese at the right-handed first corner, the Williams was narrowly ahead and
Senna was almost squeezed over the kerbing.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At the end of the lap, Caffi was third, followed by
Gerhard Berger (Ferrari), Prost, Thierry Boutsen (Benetton), and
Alessandro Nannini (Benetton) before Mansell appeared.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Starting the fourth lap, Berger managed to pass Caffi
at the first corner, smoothly moving up to third place. Four laps later Prost
also managed to use his Honda power to get ahead of the Dallara, but he would
be the last man to pass the well-driven Dallara for fifteen laps, when Mansell
at last burst through. But he was 17 seconds behind Prost and it looked
impossible to make up the difference although Mansell, of course, had other
ideas. He carved as much as a second a lap out of the Frenchman's
advantage, and when Berger stopped for tyres on lap 29, Mansell moved into
fourth place, 5.9 seconds behind Prost.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidydVobVb9PpdFMuw8jzQrIuIJbzjM7DHlPptgL1vAH3s2dcBatphv-6w-02egbZLT-IXBb6JnDmNX07fiVG5gtlfa6pBbcU6flrF9oNdt_nrNZRRCVzDLPHwwRHBJSihv_o5uW5UgW3h-/s1600/Patrese+1989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidydVobVb9PpdFMuw8jzQrIuIJbzjM7DHlPptgL1vAH3s2dcBatphv-6w-02egbZLT-IXBb6JnDmNX07fiVG5gtlfa6pBbcU6flrF9oNdt_nrNZRRCVzDLPHwwRHBJSihv_o5uW5UgW3h-/s400/Patrese+1989.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">1989 Hungarian GP - Patrese shows that he still has mettle.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For the first part of the race it was impossible to
judge the status of the drivers, since most of them were expected to make pit
stops for tyres. However, cooler weather than in qualifying, coupled with some
gamesmanship by the teams, allowed most of the leading contenders to run
non-stop.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At half distance Patrese was defending the lead so
firmly that even Senna, tracking his every move, seemed unlikely to pass.
However, the Brazilian cannot have felt comfortable, for behind him now was
Mansell, who had passed Prost and moved into third place.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Sadly, this promising four-way battle for the lead was brief, lasting
until Patrese retired on lap 53 with a steaming engine. It was a stone through
the radiator of his Williams-Renault that eliminated the Italian when he was
admirably maintaining a narrow advantage. The battle between Senna, now
leading, and Mansell was extraordinary given that the McLaren-Honda's power allowed
it to pull away noticeably even on the short straights. In braking, and in most
corners, the more aerodynamic Ferrari made up all the difference, and on lap
times there was virtually nothing between their performances.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wkWUi0LJOx-eUzFOZV_msIx9qJFeoDKfSaQQIHb1D3iBGTU12-PFe7b9NsaM4fFZEGbxgcALEy_Xhm42lpAdAuvi0g5B4GH9gejbsQpvzXMnr9QMZxbyWStKAIufTWh9mecYVYcytQfE/s1600/1989+Hungary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8wkWUi0LJOx-eUzFOZV_msIx9qJFeoDKfSaQQIHb1D3iBGTU12-PFe7b9NsaM4fFZEGbxgcALEy_Xhm42lpAdAuvi0g5B4GH9gejbsQpvzXMnr9QMZxbyWStKAIufTWh9mecYVYcytQfE/s400/1989+Hungary.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">1989 Hungarian GP - Mansell doggedly pressures Senna.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The deciding moment of the race came halfway round lap
58. Mansell had been tracking Senna's McLaren within less than a second, and
all he needed was a mistake by the Brazilian to let him grab the
lead. Senna did not exactly make a mistake: he had the misfortune to
come round a corner and be faced with a slower car, that of Stefan Johansson
(Onyx). Johansson, in trouble with gears, was reluctant to move off line,
despite moving so slowly, and Senna arrived behind him from the previous corner
so fast that he almost caught the Onyx. Mansell appraised the situation almost
instantly, braking hard and almost hitting Senna as he opposite-locked to his
right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">"Ayrton is obviously more difficult to pass than Alain, but he was
a bit too close to the car in front, and had to slow in the middle of the
corner," said Mansell. "I was very close as well, and almost hit the
back of Ayrton, but I was able to throw the car sideways and just have enough
momentum to go past." He added that he was tempted to close his eyes...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMbeVkR4dxckRkOOM2fMERKq-Y7leLbunWxh95XqOvkzre0GmOPtanTi1Hpr1jmzOLZZAqTpVe2YYy7ym-xmdlU8wkYE4POyeKrkPlz6W8hic8q5aLfZ1NegW8DpRd3qg4WU_CMfA7WF6/s1600/_46093428_hungary1989shorthighlights5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigMbeVkR4dxckRkOOM2fMERKq-Y7leLbunWxh95XqOvkzre0GmOPtanTi1Hpr1jmzOLZZAqTpVe2YYy7ym-xmdlU8wkYE4POyeKrkPlz6W8hic8q5aLfZ1NegW8DpRd3qg4WU_CMfA7WF6/s320/_46093428_hungary1989shorthighlights5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Split second - Mansell seizes the opportunity to pass Senna.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The large contingent of <i>tifosi</i> in
the crowd got the message that a Ferrari was in front, and Mansell was greeted
with huge cheers. He went on to win majestically, with Senna in second and
B</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">o</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">utsen gaining third after a late pitstop by Prost to
clean his helmet visor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Not even Ayrton Senna would disagree that Nigel Mansell deserved to
win the 1989 Hungarian Grand Prix. Only Riccardo Patrese, who had driven
immaculately in the lead, from pole position, for 52 of the 77 laps, could
offer a better claim than Mansell's. It was a consistently hard,
competitive race this - one of the best of Mansell's career by his own
reckoning - that took the relentless Englishman from 12th place on the grid
into eighth by the end of the first lap, and past no fewer than six rivals by
sheer persistence.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujSIqP8evbiHcCYXwdG8wezPXfrJi0L69Q04dOno9STSUZt3VHKuSyv-Hhy4h5Ylzf52bNLW972Aby154e1p8zeakobRFJEgwXAtcyEpbjG4H_OkXnNax089iJqkKCFgvRYDKlGx0S5Mg/s1600/1989+Hungary+-+Podium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiujSIqP8evbiHcCYXwdG8wezPXfrJi0L69Q04dOno9STSUZt3VHKuSyv-Hhy4h5Ylzf52bNLW972Aby154e1p8zeakobRFJEgwXAtcyEpbjG4H_OkXnNax089iJqkKCFgvRYDKlGx0S5Mg/s400/1989+Hungary+-+Podium.jpg" uda="true" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<em><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">1989 Hungarian GP - Mutual respect from the titans of the day.</span></em></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Determination was Mansell's outstanding quality: it kept him in motor racing when lesser men would have given up and made him habitually drive flat out when the few drivers who have an infinitesimal extra degree of talent might just ease off. This was Mansell's formula for success, fast and strong ...</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Il Leone</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> indeed.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-35582486190675550562012-02-05T19:53:00.000-05:002016-02-06T21:24:07.857-05:001993 European Grand Prix - Donington Park<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>April 11, 1993</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>his was Ayrton Senna at his supreme best. Before the race, he had said that, as at Interlagos a fortnight earlier where he scored an impressive victory, only a wet race would give him a prayer against the mighty Williams-Renaults.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There was never a true rival to the Williams-Renaults in 1993, although McLaren and Benetton had their measure occasionally. The FW15C was still emphatically the class of the field, with Renault's RS5 V10 a paragon of power and strength. Comparatively, with Honda's departure from Formula One at the end of 1992, McLaren's team principal, Ron Dennis had no alternative but to use a customer Ford HB V8. However, this engine was at least two development steps behind the factory Ford engines used by the Benetton team. Rain, they say, is the great equalizer in racing, allowing a drivers talent to compensate for their car's technical deficiencies. At Donington, the rain was not simply an equalizer .. it was Ayrton's secret weapon. </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorrmOVBoh3d95HRtqSiPrOxO5H3ZnTlIDkkl5p4FG9Y4uEHoYz2uzy3BgrSuASqWC6dA5eLV9pzJyf3nNY-AlrhKBGJmWpmudvp8nuDINRsSD5X6TvbsWOV1LVRZiKgBtfrOBcp0NFMUY/s1600/senna93.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgorrmOVBoh3d95HRtqSiPrOxO5H3ZnTlIDkkl5p4FG9Y4uEHoYz2uzy3BgrSuASqWC6dA5eLV9pzJyf3nNY-AlrhKBGJmWpmudvp8nuDINRsSD5X6TvbsWOV1LVRZiKgBtfrOBcp0NFMUY/s200/senna93.jpg" width="157" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Senna - A master in the wet.</i></span></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As in Brazil, a wet race was what he got. All the way through this time. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">During Friday practice the weather was awful, and he was duly fastest. But on Saturday the weather cleared for qualifying, and in these conditions Alain Prost (Williams) and Damon Hill (Williams) were unapproachable - indeed, Michael Schumacher (Benetton) was able to pip Senna for third on the grid. Ayrton was cheered, however, by the forecasts that Sunday would be wet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And it was so.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Although it wasn't actually raining when the teams began forming up for the race, there was no question of going to the grid on anything other than wets. Away from the grid, at the start, Schumacher swerved left, in an attempt to block Senna. Momentarily, it worked. In</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">to Redgate, Prost and Hill were smoothly first and second, with Karl Wendlinger (Sauber) up to third from fifth thanks to the Schumacher-Senna squabble. Then came Schmacher in fourth, and Senna in fifth.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVl1lW9wW08CHGsznD9l-3uM-OLH1MylJWOb099Q7EdUdx5SgXIrDnKLyPn3ZmrFTST6DmEd9KL9Lfga1fuJLTax9qwmyBQGfUZBM3BwOWTeCUmY08MRwL4FDi_UtE-3zsIcyBSKaOzwqh/s1600/donig1993.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVl1lW9wW08CHGsznD9l-3uM-OLH1MylJWOb099Q7EdUdx5SgXIrDnKLyPn3ZmrFTST6DmEd9KL9Lfga1fuJLTax9qwmyBQGfUZBM3BwOWTeCUmY08MRwL4FDi_UtE-3zsIcyBSKaOzwqh/s400/donig1993.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Craner Curves - Senna alongside Wendlinger and into third.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></i></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Senna dealt with Schumacher as they exited the corner, and then in a move of astonishing confidence and audacity, proceeded to go by Wendlinger through the Craner Curves - on the outside! It took a bit of believing, but into the Old Hairpin Senna was third. and gaining on Hill. Whom he duly passed at Coppice.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That left only Prost with whom to deal. Half-way round the lap Alain looked relatively secure in the lead, but Senna now with only his arch rival ahead of him effortlessly closed on the Frenchman. Down to the hairpin at Melbourne, Ayrton was right up with him, outbraking neatly down the inside. The opening minute had been breathtaking, but somehow you felt the race already over.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On the greasy surface, Senna briefly pulled out a lead of seven seconds after only four laps. After that, it stabilised, then began to reduce a little; the track clearly was beginning to dry.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7p8xIUra85SBXPe-hraPbhyphenhyphensNew-EeNWI4ESWRyahQAbqR9aYElO1JP0lrJFvypv8Er9GE1WIEGvlbRpDA8qzlOU4BlctVkbcQ1ouHqJOMhSFfw-URE_DoE4XTJEOBpnN2fZDAYTAEug/s1600/senna-07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7p8xIUra85SBXPe-hraPbhyphenhyphensNew-EeNWI4ESWRyahQAbqR9aYElO1JP0lrJFvypv8Er9GE1WIEGvlbRpDA8qzlOU4BlctVkbcQ1ouHqJOMhSFfw-URE_DoE4XTJEOBpnN2fZDAYTAEug/s400/senna-07.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">1993 European GP - Senna overtakes Prost for the lead at Melbourne.</span></i></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Senna came into the pits for slick tyres on lap 18. Hill and Schumacher stopped with Senna and Prost pitted the next time around. After everything had settled down again, it was Senna in the lead, five seconds clear of Prost, with Hill a couple more behind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Now it began to rain again. After only three laps on his slicks, Prost was in once more switching back to wets. On lap 24 Hill followed suit. Senna managed his slicks until lap 28, when he pitted for wets, and did not lose the lead in the process.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The rain stopped almost at once, but gone from the proceedings was Schumacher, who had spun into a sandtrap. Now the situation in the pits became almost farcical. Lap 33 saw Prost back in again, for slicks, and next time around Senna and Hill did the same. This time, however, there was a disruption in the flow of smooth stops, a problem with the left rear wheel keeping Senna immobile for twenty seconds. By the time he rejoined, Prost had gone through, and now led by almost seven seconds.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">More rain. Unbelievable, perhaps, but true. Williams brought in Prost on lap 38, and Hill on lap 41, each going back out on wets once more. Crucially, though, McLaren did not call in Senna at this point, and soon the policy proved correct, for the Williams-Renaults, on wets, were able to make no impression on the slick-shod McLaren - indeed little by little, Senna began to extend his lead. The track was drying again.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Lap 48 and Prost was in again, for the fifth time, this time for slicks. And the stop was disast</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">rous, Alain stalling as he tried to leave. The clutch he said, was "becoming difficult". By the time he went back out, the pole position man had been lapped by Senna. Hill was in on lap 50, also to take on slicks. Now he, too, was a lap back.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1146_4o4LSEHVvy3CwKLfxjK-C6ZLC9KKt_YHs8mTMkbBibjincGQm2Qoobxq-fpL_ZHjuk9b_PGHtDE6hTMSeheo8ESygsAdUBb7EAuLvcT3xYVSgVxsIXohEUqnmjAaAJdZ5EWOXky/s1600/mclaren1993senna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1146_4o4LSEHVvy3CwKLfxjK-C6ZLC9KKt_YHs8mTMkbBibjincGQm2Qoobxq-fpL_ZHjuk9b_PGHtDE6hTMSeheo8ESygsAdUBb7EAuLvcT3xYVSgVxsIXohEUqnmjAaAJdZ5EWOXky/s400/mclaren1993senna.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">1993 European GP - Senna laps all but Damon Hill in the mighty Williams.</span></i></td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By
lap 53 the situation was this: Senna had at least one lap on everybody, and led
Hill, the astonishing Rubens Barrichello (Jodan), Prost, Johnny Herbert (Lotus)
and Derek Warwick (Footwork). All on slicks.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif";">It
began to rain again. And hard this time. Senna entered the pitlane on lap 57,
seemingly unexpected since his crew was not ready for him, so he continued
straight through - and this, given the lap distance saved by Donington's
pit entry road, was to prove the fastest lap of the race! Officially, anyway. A
lap later the rain had eased, and now Senna decided wets weren't necessary,
after all. With more than a lap's lead, however, he felt he could back off a
little, and Hill, charging along in second place unlapped himself on lap 63.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif";">The
rain returned in the closing laps. On lap 66 Senna stopped for wets, and on
laps 68 and and 69 Hill and Prost did the same. Senna, of course, won
consummately. Hill was almost a minute and a half behind when the chequered
flag fell. Everyone else had been lapped at least once. It was a virtuoso
performance. Senna had crushed the opposition, despite facing a huge technical
disadvantage to a three time World Champion, and using a simple customer engine
that other teams using the same engine were happy to just score points with.
Even more astounding was the fact that this was his second victory in a row
facing these challenges, and he made it look easy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zAJeeycToUd8P6FZqzMc6UOhG1eFhh5j0GfihfwlXNClVWW2IF1jeQa6hy8kFwy5Z3jBIJf-sgJ3mcaZ-VzARhs1w23uM4b-Ktf1vNW8N8LidMhhAAdjEC-dcmMkeELMfSG_R48VU4ik/s1600/1857.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1zAJeeycToUd8P6FZqzMc6UOhG1eFhh5j0GfihfwlXNClVWW2IF1jeQa6hy8kFwy5Z3jBIJf-sgJ3mcaZ-VzARhs1w23uM4b-Ktf1vNW8N8LidMhhAAdjEC-dcmMkeELMfSG_R48VU4ik/s400/1857.2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">1993 European GP - unparalleled brilliance wins over technical dominance. </span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ayrton's
opening lap at Donington was one of the most electrifying ever seen - fifth at
the first corner, first at the end of the lap. After that, he was untouchable
for the rest of the day.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif";">Senna once said; "On a given
day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this
limit and you touch this limit, and you think, '<i>Okay, this is the limit.</i>'
As soon as you touch this limit, something happens and you can suddenly go a
little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct,
and your experience as well, you can fly very high."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif";">At Donington in 1993 Senna proved
exactly how high one could fly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-78995626187838139212012-02-03T21:30:00.000-05:002016-02-06T21:23:10.301-05:001981 Spanish Grand Prix - Circuito del Jarama<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">June 21, 1981</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>n Formula One, as in any sport, there are competitors and then there are true heroes. Those with depth of character, with an undying will to win, with integrity and courage are the ones that are remembered long after their days in racing are over. Gilles Villeneuve was such a driver, and the 1981 Spanish Grand Prix was without doubt the French-Canadian's finest victory. It was a race of incredible tension and the result was a tactical masterpiece that only a naturally gifted driver could achieve. That year Ferrari had produced a powerful turbocharged engine but the 126CK chassis was so bad that Villeneuve himself described it as "a hopeless fast red Cadillac". "You put on new tyres, and it is OK for four laps," he said. "After that, forget it."</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1981 Spanish GP: Villeneuve's ability trumped the 126CK's poor qualities.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But, as was the hallmark of Villeneuve's career, a poor car was never something that stopped him from trying to win races and in Monaco at the end of May he did just that, scoring Ferrari's first win for two years. Three weeks later the F1 circus rolled up at Jarama for the Spanish Grand Prix. Jacques Laffite (Ligier-Matra) took pole with the two Williams-Fords of Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann second and third ahead of John Watson (McLaren-Ford), Alain Prost (Renault) and Bruno Giacomelli (Alfa Romeo). Villeneuve drove impressively to simply qualify in seventh. Didier Pironi, Villeneuve's extremely capable team-mate could only manage thirteenth with the Ferrari.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Race day was incredibly hot and the temperature was around 100 degrees when the race began. Gilles' strategy at the start was to make full use of his new Michelins, and gain as many positions as possible at that green light. Jones and Reutemann blasted into the lead as Laffite dropped to twelfth when his engine bogged down as he tried to get off the line. Villeneuve scorched into third place at the first corner, snagging Prost's front wing as he did so. At the end of the first lap Villeneuve pulled out of Reutemann's slipstream and took second place. Jones quickly began building a lead, and stretched his advantage to ten seconds. However, on lap 14 the reigning World Champion made an uncharacteristic error and spun off at the Ascari chicane.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This left Villeneuve with Reutemann on is tail. Behind them Watson, a resurging Laffite and Elio de Angelis (Lotus-Ford) emerged from the hurly-burly and all began to close on the duelling leaders. Reutemann was having some trouble with his gearbox and when Laffite arrived behind him there was little Carlos could do to stop Jacques overtaking. The Argentine would later drop behind Watson as well as the five front-runners became a train of cars, nose-to-tail for the remainder of the race.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Unrelenting Pressure: lap after lap, Laffite harries Villeneuve.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Villeneuve had the power to get away from his rivals on the straights but in the corners they were all over him. Time and time again Laffite pulled alongside as they emerged from a corner but the Ferrari would serge ahead as the horsepower kicked in. He judged things to perfection, never rushing when he was at a disadvantage and positioning his car on the track so as not to allow any of his rivals past. The five remained locked together right to the flag, crossing the line covered by just 1.24s to record the second closest race in the history of F1 at the time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It had been a sensational drive by Villeneuve, and even Enzo Ferrari was impressed. The day after the race Villeneuve's boss compared his driver to the legendary Tazio Nuvolari who raced for Ferrari 50 years earlier.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Cadillac Day - Villeneuve, Laffite and Watson.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The "Commendatore" had notoriously difficult relationships with his drivers, but Villeneuve was one of the few to earn his complete admiration and respect. Little could he have realized that this would be Gilles' final Grand Prix victory, and within a year his beloved driver would be dead. Killed while trying to qualify for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder. Years later in an interview Enzo Ferrari would reveal just how much Villeneuve meant to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"My past is scarred with grief." Ferrari said. "Father, mother, brother, son, wife. My life is full of sad memories. I look back and I see my loved ones and among my loved ones I see the face of this great man, Gilles Villeneuve."</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-7157608689327353842011-10-02T11:33:00.000-04:002016-02-06T21:22:35.839-05:002000 Belgian Grand Prix - Spa Francorchamps<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">August 27, 2000</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>hree races into the 2000 Formula One season and Mika Hakkinen had only 6 points to Michael Schumacher's 30, but Hakkinen was still putting on a brave face. He must have known something the rest of us didn't: seven races later, he'd clawed back all but 2 points to his title rival and seemed to have all of the momentum going into the net round in Belgium.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Michael Schumacher and Ferrari, on the otherhand were on the back foot as they prepared for Belgium. Two weeks before, Hakkinen had pulled off a near miracle in Hungary to transform a badly-handling McLaren MP4-15 between qualifying and the race so he could drive the opposition into the ground. Ferrari was unable to match McLaren on the twisty Hungaroring, but hard work following that defeat left it quietly confident for Spa-Francorchamps.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyuDfFFvRG4FxZiRXa_4OzANbpNJLh70Tt2zoUbtnriMA8JplEoUkWAQiLaziQlPCLKVbBTY4J_RDbwPUT9w0ACddINq58poWW72rI1VxQ_d-oEh4rWqtLnx_fgdl4IBco1cuNmASTdPEU/s1600/Schumacher+2000.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="144" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyuDfFFvRG4FxZiRXa_4OzANbpNJLh70Tt2zoUbtnriMA8JplEoUkWAQiLaziQlPCLKVbBTY4J_RDbwPUT9w0ACddINq58poWW72rI1VxQ_d-oEh4rWqtLnx_fgdl4IBco1cuNmASTdPEU/s200/Schumacher+2000.jpg" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Schumacher - Four time victor at Spa.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After all, the circuit had come to be seen as a near certain 10 points for Michael Schumacher. He scored his first victory there in 1992, he'd won a further three times and he should have taken the spoils in 1994 and 1998 but for a disqualification and a slow moving David Coulthard hidden by a curtain of spray in a rain-drenched race.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But what Schumacher had come to learn in his Ferrari days was that even being the best driver in the world isn't any good without equipment to match. McLaren had been the better package for most of the 2000 season, and Schumacher was pinning his hopes on a new Ferrari 049C engine and aerodynamic tweaks to move him back to the front of the field. Sadly for him, it wasn't to be. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In qualifying it was Hakkinen who got it right, fighting off competition from Jarno Trulli (Jordan-Mugen Honda) and an inspired Jensen Button (Williams-BMW) to snatch pole position. Schumacher would start in fourth just ahead of his team-mate Rubens Barrichello in fifth. Ferrari was clearly struggling</span>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>2000 Belgian GP - Hakkinen and McLaren, faster than the Ferraris</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But hope appeared to have been resurrected on race morning when a downpour washed out the track. Although it was clear that the rain would not stay all afternoon, it was a blessing for the undoubted skills of Schumacher, that era's acknowledged master of wet weather racing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At the start, Hakkinen led away once the Safety Car had peeled off into the pitlane and, with the track drying out rapidly, the Finn maintained his advantage through the change to grooved "slick" tyres as Schumacher found a way past Button and Trulli to move into second place. On lap 13, however, the race turned on its head when Hakkinen touched a wet white painted line on the exit of Stavelot and spun through 360 degrees. He recovered and got back on the race track ... but the damage was already done. Schumacher took the lead, and charged into the distance. As the gap between them extended to 12 seconds, it appeared the race was over, with victory to Schumacher.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But as the afternoon wore on, there began to be signs that all was not well for the leader. On the long run down from Eau Rouge to Les Combes, Schumacher repeatedly ran off the racing line to cool his tyres on a damp section of the track. The implication was clear: the Ferrari was using its tyres more heavily than the MP4-15. For how long would Schumacher be able to maintain his lead?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Sure enough, Hakkinen began to close the gap as his car started handling better and better as the fuel load lightened. With five laps to go, Hakkinen was right on Schumacher's tail, looking ready to overtake. Through Eau Rouge he got a good run on the Ferrari and as Hakkinen jinked out of his rival's slipstream to the right, Schumacher slowly moved over to cover him. Hakkinen kept his foot down but as he started to pull alongside Schumacher firmly shut the door in an ultra-aggressive manner. The rear wheel of his Ferrari touched Hakkinen's front wing and the Finn braked to avoid what would have been a sizeable accident.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Hakkinen's determination was solidified by Schumacher's aggression.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"It was a very hectic and unpleasant moment - at the time I thought I had damaged something on the car," said Hakkinen. " Michael was holding the inside line and I tried to put the car half on the tarmac and half on the grass and it didn't quite work out. It was very exciting indeed."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As the pair turned into Les Combes, Hakkinen waved his fist in anger at the leader. It was perhaps his frustration at what happened that proved to be a key factor in his aggression the following lap.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Once again Hakkinen got a better run through Eau Rouge and, as Schumacher came up to lap Ricardo Zonta (BAR-Honda), all three drivers were closing in on each other. Schumacher moved to Zonta's left, believing that Hakkinen's only means of getting past had been blocked. But the reigning world champion still livid over what had happened on the previous lap, had other ideas. As Zonta held his ground in the middle of the track, Hakkinen pulled over to the right. Running three abreast with Schumacher and Zonta, he had the acceleration to pull clear and overtake. The race was his.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqz7ISXQpbdT0PpmVidymdYkxwiwdqav2mgm6-yyesHpyHccuroBEK0l0pNcpoS4dmZcHMsl69loluQLcCbeZ60rdr2-fnEFIei4xX1DnjnOtjyTzJUhDfIjOfaqkuFkiCCA9Ffk5rolB/s1600/zonta_mschu_hakk.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrqz7ISXQpbdT0PpmVidymdYkxwiwdqav2mgm6-yyesHpyHccuroBEK0l0pNcpoS4dmZcHMsl69loluQLcCbeZ60rdr2-fnEFIei4xX1DnjnOtjyTzJUhDfIjOfaqkuFkiCCA9Ffk5rolB/s320/zonta_mschu_hakk.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Pass - Hakkinen's bravery is unquestionable.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">McLaren boss Ron Dennis, watching on the pit wall, punched the air in delight, fully aware of the move's significance - Hakkinen went on to extend his lead to six points in the title chase.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"It was unbelievable," said Dennis. "I think I'd rate the move as the best I've ever seen in Formula One. There have been some exciting moves in the past, but it was the difficult conditions under which Mika did it, having been pushed almost off the circuit and on to the wet track during the previous lap. It wasn't just a question of going either side of a driver. It was also the wet part of the track, and that required commitment and bravery. In order for it to work, the momentum had to be there to keep him on line for the next corner."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The overtaking move of the 2000 season? Definitely. The best overtaking move in Formula One history? Probably not. Whatever the quality of Mika Hakkinen's spectacular manoeuvre past Michael Schumacher, there was no doubt that it was a significant moment in the fight for the 2000 world crown.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Hakkinen stakes his claim on a third straight driver's title.</i></span></td></tr>
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Hunting Schumacher down in the final laps, refusing to be intimidated by a ruthless chop at over 190mph and passing him in one of the boldest moves ever. It was a spellbinding display made all the more impressive when Zonta later admitted that the reason why he didn't jink to the right when Schumacher came past was that he felt the track was too wet on that line.<br />
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Hakkinen was one of the few drivers of that era who had the talent to battle with Schumacher on even terms. The Finn was a hard racer, but he was also a fair and honest sportsman. The bravery and commitment demonstrated during that pass at Spa-Francorchamps was simply brilliant.<br />
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There are not many Grands Prix where a single pass defines the race, but this was surely one of the finest examples.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-88743545701593543422011-10-01T01:00:00.000-04:002016-02-06T21:21:44.224-05:001978 South African Grand Prix - Kyalami<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">March 4, 1978</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">C</span>olin Chapman was a legendary innovator. As founder and team manager of Team Lotus he is most remembered for his many clever designs and for his enormously successful Grand Prix team. Chapman introduced the monocoque form of construction into modern single-seater racing, he brought Ford into Grand Prix racing and along the way laid the ground plan for the venerable Cosworth DFV engine, brought sponsorship into the Grand Prix world, and he very quickly forced the pace of aerodynamics development once the use of wings were introduced to Grand Prix racing.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Perhaps Chapman's greatest legacy was to harness airflow beneath a car to increase its roadholding. In 1977 he introduced the Lotus 78 which was the forerunner of a new breed of grand prix car. Mario Andretti and Ronnie Peterson dominated the 1978 season in the black and gold cars as everyone learned a new expression: "ground effect".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ground effect involved smoothing the under-car surfaces and attacehd "skirts" to the sides in order to give the underside the profile of a saucer. This shape had the effect of creating a vacuum between the car and the road surface, the effect increasing with the speed of the car. The vacuum "sucked" the car down onto the road, enabling it to corner at speeds that hitherto would have been inconceivable. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Colin Chapman</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Many doubted Chapman's wisdom in pairing Andretti and Peterson in 1978. Mario had an close and trusting relationship with Colin and he and contractually made the American the team's number one driver. Ronnie, however, was widely regarded as the fastest driver in the world in the mid-seventies, his seat-of-the-pants driving style and astonishing car control won him an army of fans. He was at the very least equal in ability and talent to Andretti, but Chapman probably knew better than the track-side cynics that Ronnie would honour the agreement that Mario was to be world champion that season.</span></div>
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It is likely that Peterson accepted the role of number two because he had not won for over a year. During his first stint with Lotus winning seemed to come easy. In 1973 he won four Grands Prix and added another three in 1974. A dreadful 1975 saw him leave Lotus for March in 1976, where he took a further win before being tempted to join Tyrrell in 1977. However, the six-wheeled Tyrrell P34 turned out to be a disaster and by now the critics questioned whether he would ever win again. But a switch back tot he resurgent Lotus team for 1978 gave him back all of his enthusiasm and he was ready to prove the critics wrong.</div>
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In truth, however, this was not a race which Peterson looked likely to win. It was a race which should have produced a victory for team-mate Mario Andretti, for a young Riccardo Patrese (Arrowa-Ford) or for Patrick Depailler (Tyrrell-Ford). </div>
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Andretti started from the front the front row and streaked away into the distance. But at quarter distance Andretti noticed that his front left tyre was starting to blister. If he carried on pushing at this speed, he would lose the race. But if he backed off to conserve it, then the chances were he would be able to pick up the pace again.</div>
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So he let Jody Scheckter (Wolf-Ford), who was being closely pursued by Patrese, through. The young Italian pushed Scheckter so hard that the performance of the Wolf's rear tyres went off and, after a spirited wheel-to-wheel battle, Patrese forged ahead. </div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This was only the second race for the new Arrows team, and Riccardo built up a sizeable lead with Depailler moving up to second as Scheckter faded. Then, with just 15 laps to go, Patrese's engine blew. That left Depailler in the lead, but with Andretti, John Watson (Brabham-Alfa Romeo) and Peterson not far behind. This, in fact, had been a remarkable drive by Peterson, for he had been relegated to the sixth row of the grid by gearbox problems. But, once into the race, he picked his way through to the top six with aplomb.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Watson was next to go when he spun on oil, and that left Andretti, his car working perfectly again, catching Depailler for the lead, with Peterson closing up to both. Then Andretti's engine started to stutter. He was out of fuel, and livid because, to keep the weight of the car down, the Lotus team manager, Colin Chapman had taken out some fuel on the grid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"What made me so mad was that Colin had three gallons of gas taken out of my car on the grid!" Andretti recalled later. "I didn't really argue with him because the guy was nearly always right. Colin, I says to him, if I run out of fuel, I'll take it out on your hide. Trust me he says ..." Apparently, even legends get it wrong sometimes and Andretti had to pit for a splash of fuel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The day was not lost for Lotus, however, for Depailler's car was now trailing smoke. But Ronnie made no real inroads into the Tyrrell's lead until, with just five laps to go , the fates decided that the next helping of bad luck was to go to the Frenchman, and the Tyrrell began to stutter - it too was having trouble picking up the last drops of fuel.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1978 South African GP - Depailler tries desperately to hold on for his first win.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Peterson took up the chase. As they went into the last lap Ronnie was gaining, the Lotus virtually on the Tyrrell's gearbox as they came out of Crowthorne. This victory was going to be important to someone. After five years in Formula One Depailler had still to win his first Grand Prix. And Peterson was keen to show the sceptics that he was the man of old.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Round the last lap they went, sometimes side-by-side they ran, each driver's desperation to win plain to see as twice they banged wheels. But Ronnie was very determined to get by, and Patrick's car was hobbled. At the Esses, the last but one corner, the blue and white Tyrrell slid sideways slightly and the gleaming black Lotus slipped ahead. From 12th place on the grid, the great Swede won by half a second.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1978 South African GP - Peterson relentlessly pursues Depailler.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With an absolutely brilliant drive Peterson emphatically answered the critics who questioned his ability. Together, he and Andretti, dominated the 1978 season and, as well as scoring two more superb wins, Ronnie often sat just behind Andretti's exhausts, his integrity refusing to allow himself to break his contract and pass the American.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">His performance that season was enough to win him an offer to be McLaren's number one driver in 1979, but after an accident at the start of the Italian Grand Prix left him with serious leg injuries, a bone marrow embolism entered his bloodstream, and Peterson died the following morning, depriving Formula One of one of its most electrifying talents.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-61338158600260381252011-09-23T23:36:00.035-04:002016-02-06T21:20:46.156-05:001996 Spanish Grand Prix - Circuit de Catalunya<div style="text-align: right;">
<i><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">June 2, 1996</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A</span> casual observer may not have enjoyed the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix - a lone red Ferrari putting an ever increasing distance between itself and its pursuers. But to the purest it was spellbinding.</span></div>
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What made it all the more impressive was the fact that at the start of the 1996 season Michael Schumacher appeared to have done the unthinkable by leaving Benetton in the wake of back-to-back world titles. He transferred to Ferrari - a proud name, but in many ways a bare shell of a team. </div>
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He'd been encouraged when he tested the 1995 car, but was hugely disappointed when he'd subsequently tried the new F310, Ferrari's first V-10 powered Formula One car. He knew immediately that he was in for a tough season, and he was right. The Williams-Renault dominated the season with a far superior car. In Spain, however, Ferrari had an unquantifiable edge ... Schumacher. </div>
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Still, Schumacher finished the warm-up 0.86 seconds shy of polesitter Damon Hill (Williams-Renault), almost the same margin he'd been adrift in Saturday's dry qualifying session where he claimed third on the starting grid. Then he took a calculated gamble. He told the team he wanted a full wet set-up with light tanks. Two stops. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1996 Spanish GP - Schumacher's bold gamble was pivotal.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Normally in the wet, the strategy is to go to the grid with a heavy fuel load for maximum strategic flexibility. A wet set-up means the car is softened right off on the springs and bars, making its response to the driver's actions more gentle - reducing the risk of a small mistake turing into a terminal, high-speed incident. More wing is cranked on to produce more downforce int he corners, assisting the tyres to grip and disperse more water. The problem, of course, is that if the track dries, the driver will lose out hand over fist to a car that started on a stiffer set-up. Furthermore, the tyres will start to wear horribly quickly.</span></div>
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But start on compromise settings and you obviously don't go as well in the wet. So it is a grey art: if you anticipate a drying track, you run as hard (dry) a set-up as the driver can cope with in the rain.</div>
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Hill seemed to hesitate when the lights went out, trailing Villeneuve and Alesi into the first turn, but his getaway was scintillating compared with Schumacher's. The Ferrari appeared almost to stall, before stumbling away. "My start was a disaster," Michael said. "I went for the clutch, and there was nothing. I nearly stalled, then tried it again. Fortunately, no one went into the back of me." By the time he got things sorted out he was ninth going into the Elf right-hander. He quickly recovered however, and had passed three cars before the end of the first lap.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1996 Spanish GP - After a poor start Schumacher storms to the front.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thereafter, his progress was mesmeric. Eddie Irvine (Ferrari) spun out of fifth and when Damon Hill (Williams-Renault) ran on to the grass a couple of laps later, Schumacher was up to fourth. On lap five he passed Gerhard BErger (Benetton-Renault), lapped two seconds quicker than anyone else and closed to within six seconds of the lead. Next time around he was 3.7 seconds faster than race leader Jacques Villeneuve (Williams-Renault) and second-place man Jean Alesi (Benetton-Renault).</span></div>
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The German was using totally different lines to everyone else, sweeping wide to avoid the more frequently used, rubber permeated areas of the track and thus maximizing what precious little grip was available. On lap 9 Schumacher swept around the outside of the tightening fourth gear Renault right-hander and did the same out of Repsol. He sliced his way past Alesi, into second, and on lap 12 he overtook Villeneuve, too, at precisely the same place. On each occasion, he left his braking late, poked the nose of the Ferrari inside, leaving neither Jean nor Jacques an opportunity to resist. The moves were exquisitely judged and by the end of lap 12, he was three seconds clear.</div>
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Just two laps later Schumacher posted the fastest lap of the race, some four seconds quicker than Villeneuve and Alesi. By lap 24, Schumacher was in for his first stop. In the twelve laps he led the race he opened a 40 second gap. Before he stopped again, on lap 42, the margin was widened further to 90 seconds, despite a sick sounding engine.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1996 Spanish GP - Schumacher effortlessly passes Villeneuve for the lead.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"It started on lap 33," Michael said, "and I thought I was running on eight or nine cylinders. I guessed it was probably caused by the water, but I was worried. Normally I'm flat in sixth on the straight, but suddenly I wasn't even hitting the limiter in fifth."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In actual fact his engine was on nine cylinders for a time, but this cured itself and the main problem was a broken exhaust. Nevertheless, through the most appalling wet conditions Schumacher scored his first success for the Prancing Horse. A truly brilliant one, too. He all but drowned Ferrari's sporting director Jean Todt on Moet on the podium.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"I wouldn't have bet a penny on myself winning this race," he said after the race. "In Brazil the car didn't handle and it hadn't felt good in the wet warm-up at Monaco. I've no explaination other than that it is very sensitive to the circuit. Here, we hadn't been competitive in the dry, but suddenly, in the wet warm-up, it felt great. We made a few more changes afterwards and it was perfect."</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8IM1kfHa7IPGodR3zQECxa_pwfq2CuPhUWfDfHLKFRM_lmhKa8NTKUcsNy7Rn0MA0ZcT28Est0cazwujslGk8WQCXRdGTB9V8CbX4blX33WmKifuAkUaNANhuu8NJUQOQLh-K0vBMaxW/s1600/96ES-A161.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih8IM1kfHa7IPGodR3zQECxa_pwfq2CuPhUWfDfHLKFRM_lmhKa8NTKUcsNy7Rn0MA0ZcT28Est0cazwujslGk8WQCXRdGTB9V8CbX4blX33WmKifuAkUaNANhuu8NJUQOQLh-K0vBMaxW/s400/96ES-A161.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1996 Spanish GP - Schumacher and Ferrari would soon dominate F1.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">It was, in truth, one of the great wet weather drives in history. The set-up and strategy may have been perfect, but this was as good a drive as Michael Schumacher had ever delivered. And that's saying something. The highest praise came from the opposition.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Renault's Bernard Dudot said with a smile "Today, Schumacher was brilliant and nobody could do anything to stop him. We had no engine problems!" And Williams senior operations engineer James Robinson added: "I don't think the Ferrari was that brilliant. It looked like it was on ice to me. That guy is something else. It was pretty amazing." </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Amazing was about the only way you could describe it.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-88348584266781716782011-09-05T17:20:00.005-04:002016-02-06T21:19:39.627-05:001988 Japanese Grand Prix - Suzuka<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>October 30, 1988</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>n the summer of 1987 Ayrton Senna finally sealed a three-year deal to drive for the McLaren team from the start of the 1988 season. Former McLaren team driver John Watson found himself chatting with Senna about his prospects with McLaren during the summer of 1987. The conversation worked around to how Ayrton would handle competing alongside Alain Prost, by then in his fourth season with the team and already the winner of two World Championship titles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Drawing on his experience of running beside Niki Lauda in the McLaren squad, Watson offered the young Brazilian his opinion that the best way to deal with Prost would be by stealth rather than by engineering a head-to-head confrontation. Senna listened politely, then surprised Watson by telling him that he had other ideas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"He told me he would beat Prost by being fitter, more motivated and more dedicated," Watson recalled later. "He said he would make sure he was in a position to drive faster, more consistently, and for longer than Prost could. He meant to beat him convincingly from the front, and I recall thinking, Well that seems a little optimistic."</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7u4Q4YvcOUcSIN7t3M-w0DfPMOAusaipUTTUpcM3iIb6zuZ8N_JVmOUh1lRbowb7sTswSBjF01X71aBmDSk_kBWR6PcyLyRJdvh0Sa8yRBWGz4EoYPbvG5JZYzpfAlGtWHgveVSo3DkGM/s1600/senna+prost+rivalry.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7u4Q4YvcOUcSIN7t3M-w0DfPMOAusaipUTTUpcM3iIb6zuZ8N_JVmOUh1lRbowb7sTswSBjF01X71aBmDSk_kBWR6PcyLyRJdvh0Sa8yRBWGz4EoYPbvG5JZYzpfAlGtWHgveVSo3DkGM/s400/senna+prost+rivalry.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1988 Prost & Senna - The two premier drivers would battle for the title.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Alain Prost was indeed a potent and formidable adversary, not to be taken lightly. He had, after all, won two of the previous three World Championships and at that time he had won more Grands Prix than anyone in history. Beating him would never be easy and while it was fairly obvious that Ayrton had the natural talent to confront him within the same team, with equal machinery, overcoming the mental barrier of actually transcending Prost would prove to be the biggest hurdle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As the cornerstone of his impending strategy Ayrton Senna made qualifying a speciality which no-one could hope to match in 1988, not even Alain Prost. Nowhere was this more clearly demonstrated than at Monaco where his pole position lap, the 19th of his five year career, was a scarcely believable 1.6 seconds faster than the Frenchman! To outpace a team-mate of Prost's stature by such a margin was absolutely astounding and up until then ... unheard of.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At Monaco, being on the front row can be a decisive advantage and Senna made effective use of his pole position. The Brazilian made a brilliant getaway while his team-mate faltered. Out of the Ste Devote chicane it was Senna ... then Gerhard Berger (Ferrari) who had snatched second place from Prost. At the end of the opening lap, Senna had pulled out a 2.5 second lead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Though Prost drew level with Berger several times under braking for Ste Devote, and even pushed his McLaren's nose in front, his efforts looked fruitless, perhaps even reckless. When, at last, the Frenchman managed to wrestle second place from Berger, Senna was 48 seconds in front. Prost posted a couple of fast laps, but then when Senna responded with the fastest laps of the race thus far, Prost radioed to his pit and said that he would settle for second place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"When they told me that Alain had overtaken Berger, I went faster for a few laps," Senna would say later. Team chief Ron Dennis, then called Senna to inform him that Prost would not be trying to attack. Only a few laps later, Senna's car bounced off the guardrail on the inside of the right-handed Portier corner and then smashed into the barriers on the outside of the corner.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1988 Monaco GP - The biggest step in Senna's career.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He trudged away expressionless, numb and he went directly to his nearby apartment. There he promptly fell asleep without even calling his team. On reflection, he concluded that the accident had been his fault, for heeding Dennis' advice and slowing down. "It was my mistake," he said "by going slow I lost concentration."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Given the fact that it was Senna's avowed intent, when he went to McLaren, to prove to everyone that he was beyond doubt the next World Champion, the shock of Monaco must have been immense on his psyche. It would have buried the confidence of most, especially considering that on points, Alain now led Ayrton in the Championship 24 to 9 and making up a 15 point deficit on Prost would not be the work of a moment. Hard to believe as it was, but after only three of sixteen races, Senna may have already lost the 1988 World Championship at Portier that Sunday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ayrton, however, was never one to give up and it was belief in himself (to do even what seemed impossible) that would eventually make him one of the truly greatest racing drivers of all time. He was able to shake off the disappointment of Monaco and came back even stronger and more determined, winning six of the next eight races. As the calendar approached the Japanese Grand Prix, with only two rounds remaining in the Championship, Senna had trimmed Prost's lead in the standings to 5 points.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In 1988 drivers counted their best eleven finishes towards the Championship and if Senna could win in Japan he would clinch the World Driver’s Championship no matter what Prost did. This straightforward scenario seemed to be perfect for Senna. He seemed to be created for such a task … grab pole, go faster than anyone and win. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">1988 Japanese GP - A victory would seal the Championship for Senna.</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Ayrton duly took the pole at Suzuka, which was almost a given since, in the end, he would win the pole position in all, save three races, of the 1988 season. Prost joined him on the front row with Gerhard Berger (Ferrari) and Ivan Capelli (March-Judd) occupying the second row. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It was unfortunate that, amid the excitement and anticipation of the moment, the politeness of Suzuka’s efficient organizers was tested to the full by none other than FIA President Jean-Marie Balestre. His first gaffe was to send a letter to the president of Honda Motors reminding him (as if such were necessary) that both Senna and Prost should be provided with identical engines: “otherwise the image of the World Championship would be tarnished.” An ominous precursor to the behaviour of Monsieur Balestre, and an ironic choice of words, given how his actions would reflect on the World Championships of 1989 and 1990.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Politics aside, the stage was set then for the epic showdown that would decide the World Championship. However, moments after the start of the Grand Prix it seemed almost unthinkable that Ayrton Senna would win the championship in Japan. The benefits of his hard-earned pole position, evaporated when his Honda engine died. Prost whizzed by to grab the lead, while on the grid behind there were numerous heart-stopping moments as fast moving cars swerved around the seemingly stricken number 12 McLaren. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“It was the only start I missed all year – and it was the most important,” Senna would relate later. “When I dropped the clutch, the engine died, and then when I got it going, it did it again. I thought: I am going to have to drive as hard as I can, but it will be impossible to catch Alain.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Senna’s car was fourteenth at the second corner, and one couldn’t help but recall his mental lapse at Monaco. Surely the situation he was in now was impossible. His vastly experienced team-mate was out in front, with the same dominant equipment and twelve competitors between them. After fighting so hard all season to put himself back into contention for the title it is easy to imagine how demoralizing this must have been. Any other drive would have mentally packed it in, but Senna was not like that, and as only he could, he began to fight back. By the end of the first lap he was eighth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“I found my rhythm and started to go quicker and quicker,” Senna recalled. “Then some drizzle came, so everybody slowed, and that helped me.” Indeed in the slippery conditions Senna’s special brand of skill and daring brought him dramatically closer to his team-mate. Patrese (Williams-Judd), Boutsen (Benetton-Ford), and Alboreto (Ferrari) were all comparatively easy prey – it took three laps to dispose of them, but by then third placed Berger was 9.4 seconds in front.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The gap melted to nothing in five laps, as Berger did his best to stay within the limits of his Ferrari’s fuel gauge. Once past the red car, Senna’s sternest rival would be the excellent Ivan Capelli, who had taken his March past Berger on the sixth lap. At the moment when Senna started to cut into the margin separating him from Capelli, the Italian was giving Prost a hard time. For one glorious moment the sea-green March actually nosed in front of the McLaren in front of the pits, but his normally aspirated Judd just could not match the turbo-charged Honda and Alain maintained the lead.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Senna Closes In - Prost's advantage at the start melts away. </i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Prost would not be able to resist Senna so easily. “Ayrton was very strong and motivated, and I knew it would be difficult,” said the Frenchman. “I had a good opportunity when he missed the start, and I controlled the race. Then I had some traffic – and also a gearbox problem – I was missing one gearshift maybe every two or three laps. I am very frustrated and it was disappointing that I lost maybe eight seconds in two laps compared with Ayrton. He overtook me when I had traffic.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Once in front of Prost, a jubilant Senna allowed the remaining 23 laps to tick away without effort. When a second rain shower damped the circuit in the last five laps, Senna victory was assured. There was certainly no mistaking his elation that he felt as he crossed the line, punching the sky with both arms, to win.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Ayrton had pulled off the unimaginable, with a stupefying performance. He won the Championship in the best possible fashion, beating the dominant driver of the day fair and square despite the huge obstacles that were thrown his way. After his victory at Estoril in 1985, he was given the nickname “Magic” and at the Japanese Grand Prix in 1988 he proved how appropriate that nickname truly was.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the press conference afterwards, Senna was more open, more frank than usual. “I feel as if I’ve lost a great weight off my shoulders,” he said. “I feel very light and pleased. Many times people ask me which was my best race, and up until now it was always Portugal in ’85 in the rain, my first win. But this one is the best one now, for sure.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Generally, people don’t realize how hard it is for us to come from behind. There were so many back markers and they were so difficult.” As it happens, one of those who didn’t make it easy for Senna was Prost himself. The passing manoeuvre that gave Senna the lead, and with it the championship, took place as they passed the pits, Senna chose to pass on the inside, and Prost who occupied the middle of the circuit showed no readiness at all to concede. Senna completed the pass in the dirt. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Senna saved the biggest revelation for a question about his now celebrated mistake at Monaco. “I can talk about it now,” he said. “Monaco was the turning point of the Championship for me. The mistake I made in Monte Carlo woke me up psychologically, mentally, and I changed a lot after that mistake. And that gave me the strength and the power and the cool mind to fight on critical situations.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“That was when I had the biggest step in my career as a racing driver, as a professional and as a man. I have to say that it brought me even closer to God than I’ve ever been, and that has changed my life completely.”</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKS8wcwvPzZULa2Nh7GOo2OvTLBmfBv9XmA-gzLL8RNImsQbOZ9-l9PmuPXEEc06elogWq4ipWMAOUbZ_N4wAJkFG9IBZC3cOE53tHwwsatHGZxJkxfOH_v6FRQZRmeEeAhX14AcM4uyvm/s1600/Senna%252C+Japan+1988.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKS8wcwvPzZULa2Nh7GOo2OvTLBmfBv9XmA-gzLL8RNImsQbOZ9-l9PmuPXEEc06elogWq4ipWMAOUbZ_N4wAJkFG9IBZC3cOE53tHwwsatHGZxJkxfOH_v6FRQZRmeEeAhX14AcM4uyvm/s400/Senna%252C+Japan+1988.jpg" width="268" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1988 Japanese GP - Senna and a great weight lifted.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As much as the events during the Grand Prix reminded us of why we love Formula One, Monsieur Balestre's bias and favouritism reminded us afterwards of how loathsome certain aspects of the series can be. On Sunday afternoon, having heard of Prost’s gearshift difficulties, he rang FISA officials at Suzuka to demand that the offending gearbox be stripped down. This led to the amusing sight of six FISA officials, none of whom knew the difference between a pinion and a potato, trying to make sense of dozens of gearbox parts scattered over the paddock tarmac.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In contrast to the deluded world of Jean-Marie Balestre, Ayrton Senna’s victory in Japan was something real. I truly admired him for readily admitting his shortcomings and making no excuses for his mistake at Monaco. It would have been easy to massage his ego with his eight victories, his thirteen pole positions or his world crown, but it was his ability to make himself stronger through adversity that made me respect him even more. Facing challenges seemed to unlock an even higher level of performance from him, and the more difficult the challenge he faced, the more inspired a performance he could deliver.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This was Ayrton Senna’s “Magic” … this is what made him special, this is what made him the greatest driver of his era.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-64918428771259664792011-09-04T00:21:00.012-04:002016-02-06T21:17:31.123-05:001979 French Grand Prix - Circuit de Dijon-Prenois<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>July 1, 1979</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">R</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">enault's first Formula One race in the modern era was at Silverstone for the 1977 British Grand Prix. They entered a single car for Jean-Pierre Jabouille. What made this particular entry so notable, was the fact that the Renault RS01 carried a Renault-Gordini V6 turbocharged engine which was the first such engine to be used with any regularity in Formula One history. </span></div>
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<tr align="left"><td class="tr-caption"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1977 Jabouille - The fast, but fragile RS01</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The car proved extremely fragile. So much so that the British teams cheekily dubbed it the Yellow Teapot because of its tendency to retire from Grands Prix billowing smoke from the engine. It suffered mechanical failures in all five of the races it entered that season. While reliability was clearly an issue the car was able to demonstrate an impressive speed capability and Renault stayed committed to developing the technology. Solving the turbo puzzle proved difficult and it wasn’t until 1979 when they introduced their new RS10 ground effects car (which now had a Renault-Gordini V6 with a twin turbo configuration) that the team began to show progress. That season Renault had expanded the team to two drivers with René Arnoux joining Jabouille.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The team was a national undertaking. Not only was Renault France’s largest automobile manufacturer, the team also partnered with Elf Fuel and Michelin tyres. So when the Grand Prix circus arrived at the Dijon-Prenois circuit it was clear that this was not just another race on the calendar for Renault.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Dijon, abounding in fast corners and with a steep uphill haul towards the end of the lap, is a circuit where horsepower counts for more than anything else. With the twin-turbo Jabouille was fastest from the very beginning of practice and he took a comfortable pole. Less readily anticipated, though, was the presence of René Arnoux's sister Renault on the front row. In the matter of sheer pace, the yellow cars stood alone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Only Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari) came closest to disrupting the Renaults dominance during qualifying. Behind the French-Canadian was Nelson Piquet (Braham-Alfa Romeo), Jody Scheckter (Ferrari), and Niki Lauda (Brabham-Alfa Romeo).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The crowd on race day was predictably of epic proportions, variously estimated at between 100,000 and 120,000. They were there in droves to lend their support to the yellow of Renault. Even the Gods seemed to be doing their bit for the home side. After the blistering, if clouded, heat during practice and qualifying, race day was overcast and cool - in other words, perfect turbo weather. All the omens seemed to be pointing in one direction.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8bZQNF-phqMjhLu_vUdS9TooLiQdKNPozK65gfcVVLGaVuaMX9cg6CRQU0z8LLKwG2wGCaBQ9qZqoVl9EJm2qHkhUhKUZlUiaTJCaOotVCEfDQj5fcauwxclaMi7TRxd3DM42Q4PTQgz/s1600/Villeneuve+1979.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc8bZQNF-phqMjhLu_vUdS9TooLiQdKNPozK65gfcVVLGaVuaMX9cg6CRQU0z8LLKwG2wGCaBQ9qZqoVl9EJm2qHkhUhKUZlUiaTJCaOotVCEfDQj5fcauwxclaMi7TRxd3DM42Q4PTQgz/s200/Villeneuve+1979.jpg" width="159" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Gilles Villeneuve</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With all of this stacked against him, Villeneuve, knew the start would be critical. “For me, it is very important to get a good start,” he said on Sunday morning. “Somehow I must at least split the Renaults on the first lap.” He did better than that. When the green light blinked. the Ferrari lit up its tyres and catapulted away. Arnoux, on the front row, very nearly stalled his car, and that was all the gap Gilles needed. Jabouille had got away reasonably well, but it was not enough to hold the Ferrari. Villeneuve led the pack into the first corner, intent on forcing the issue from the outset. All the way round that lap, the Ferrari was on the ragged edge, but the policy was working out. Gilles was leaving them behind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As the T4 completed lap one in the lead, it was followed by Jabouille, Scheckter, Piquet, Jean-Pierre Jarier (Tyrrell-Ford), who had made a sensational start from row five, Lauda, Jacques Laffite (Ligier-Ford), Alan Jones (Williams-Ford) and - back in ninth spot - Arnoux. After two laps, Villeneuve's lead was over two seconds and growing, but Arnoux was already giving notice of the Renault's potential, dispensing with Jones and Laffite in a single lap. After another, he was past Lauda. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGptuzPEeBfA7rGBhejFtjr3JJUkLqZnD_I1844PdK9nKUZcse9bBiKWTtfAV4QDdNrTclltmoRbnbXJo-Ti1yzSpHRKZ7jHbVKJ3Sm0GANipcW95j3HkXP05LX1m9R6MihCixrsiMuWI/s1600/Rene+Arnoux+1979.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGptuzPEeBfA7rGBhejFtjr3JJUkLqZnD_I1844PdK9nKUZcse9bBiKWTtfAV4QDdNrTclltmoRbnbXJo-Ti1yzSpHRKZ7jHbVKJ3Sm0GANipcW95j3HkXP05LX1m9R6MihCixrsiMuWI/s200/Rene+Arnoux+1979.jpg" width="152" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Rene Arnoux</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At five laps, Villeneuve was more than four seconds to the good, with Jabouille steadily dropping Scheckter. Piquet ran fourth, with Jarier fifth, but the Tyrrell was swiftly passed by Arnoux, who needed only another five laps to displace the Brabham.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At the front, Villeneuve's progress was remarkable, but one wondered if he might regret the early charge when tyre wear became critical in the second half of the race. “I am not interested in three or four points,” he had said on Sunday morning. "This is one I want to win, nothing less.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Although maintaining his five-second lead, it was clear that Villeneuve's Ferrari was making its driver work. The Renault, by contrast, looked as smooth as silk. If Jabouille was content to let Villeneuve lead, Arnoux clearly had very definite ideas about coming to grips with Scheckter, and the South African surrendered without a fight on lap 14. Ferrari, Renault, Renault, Ferrari. Quite suddenly it became obvious that Villeneuve's strategy, while the only one open to him, was not going to work out after all, for Jabouille was closing relentlessly, sometimes by as much as half a second a lap. The two of them were now well clear of the rest, who were led comfortably by Arnoux</span>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuZi-2jFSSZkVmd3XagPDG0pZnPLKrJPz6Ah0X69sD8sGC7CjQIx1fLD1zMAbIxIgMLmxN5U3kBvVft6Y3kTBuT_dU48VBaxoGBfg8ok0fH6hzdz0DdFhfkiFGaoj04XW8RSCyx6RbQ8y/s1600/5939380499_cd9cd26fa7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJuZi-2jFSSZkVmd3XagPDG0pZnPLKrJPz6Ah0X69sD8sGC7CjQIx1fLD1zMAbIxIgMLmxN5U3kBvVft6Y3kTBuT_dU48VBaxoGBfg8ok0fH6hzdz0DdFhfkiFGaoj04XW8RSCyx6RbQ8y/s400/5939380499_cd9cd26fa7.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1979 French GP - Jabouille relentlessly pursues Villeneuve.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jabouille was right up with Villeneuve after 30 laps, and the spectators really began to believe that perhaps a French victory might be at hand. Villeneuve was not about to wave Jabouille by, however, and a combination of lucky breaks with lapped traffic, handled with good deal of verve, pulled the Ferrari's lead out to four seconds again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“For the second half of the race, my car was all over the place,” said Villeneuve later, this being the price of his early charge. On right-handers, he added, it was oversteering, and on left turns, the very opposite. So when Jabouille moved in once more, Gilles had no worthwhile cards left to play.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On lap 46, Jean-Pierre made his move, diving past the Ferrari at the end of the pit straight. “I remember being told early in my career that it was essential, after overtaking, to go as quick as possible for three or four laps afterwards,” he said afterwards. “It demoralizes the guy behind. That was good advice. and I really went hard for a while.” </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1979 French GP - Once past the Ferrari, Jabouille builds a gap.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In five laps the Renault went three seconds clear. Now the driver had only to keep going, keep praying that this time it would all come right.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Stalemate appeared to sum up the dying laps. Jabouille was a quarter of a minute to the good, with Villeneuve similarly ahead of Arnoux. Jones ran a solid, now lonely fourth, and Jarier appeared to have the measure o</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">f Clay Regazzoni (Williams-Ford).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And now it was that the race came alive. The question of victory was never in doubt, of course, for Jabouille had all well in hand. But even he was not without problems. “In the last 30 laps, my brake pedal went 'hard', and required a tremendous effort to push it. For the last few laps, I was in a lot of pain with my right leg, and I don't believe I could have continued for much longer.” Jean-Pierre's problems, however, were as nothing compared with those confronting Villeneuve, whose tyres were now quickly approaching the end of their life's work. The Ferrari's pace had slowed appreciably; and at the same time, René Arnoux, fighter that he was gave the Renault everything he had, closing in on Villeneuve at a simply prodigious rate, something around a second and a half a lap.</span></div>
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With ten laps left, Gilles's position appeared hopeless, for Arnoux was only five seconds back and, as we had seen earlier in the race, he quite obviously had no trouble in passing people.</div>
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Five laps to go, and the two cars were almost nose, to-tail, spectators now on their feet, willing Arnoux on screaming frenzied support. Villeneuve surely could not withstand the Renault for long, for surely Arnoux was now quite inspired, swept along by the moment.</div>
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On lap 71 he had gone round in 1:09.16, more than a second faster than any other driver in the race! And some measure of Villeneuve's determination was that he, too, set his fastest lap of the race at the same time, hobbled by tyre wear or no. On lap 77, Jabouille went through, then a horde of backmarkers, then ... delirium from the stands, Arnoux was in front! It was going to be a Renault one-two. At the end of the pit straight, he had calmly out-braked Villeneuve and snatched second place. And that, so it appeared, was that. Gilles had gallantly carried the battle to the Renaults and the gamble had failed. Torque - and a healthy dose of French pride - had beaten him. But Villeneuve was not like that. He had sensed that something was slightly amiss with Amoux's car. “When René passed me, I expected him to run away down the straight, just as Jabouille had done, but the gap stayed the same. I couldn't close on him, but he wasn't getting away.”</div>
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Arnoux's fuel pick-up was faltering slightly in the last few minutes. “I thought I would try to get him back as quick as possible, because he wouldn't expect it. At the end of the pit straight, I wasn't really close enough, but I dove for the inside and left my braking really, really late ...” </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8h9Zqfs736kqUMo1q8BWl65BhjeclG60KCTPZvbsneC50jPsXCk26wqKXv7RRJNCWMg84K9N50uRr63zdiZKIIz-GOY2QWT4RtL9MMLsswp6Sa-BM0xxSInUSjMNDFCszM2S35lPMye3N/s1600/gilles-villenueve-rene-arnoux-at-french-grand-prix.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8h9Zqfs736kqUMo1q8BWl65BhjeclG60KCTPZvbsneC50jPsXCk26wqKXv7RRJNCWMg84K9N50uRr63zdiZKIIz-GOY2QWT4RtL9MMLsswp6Sa-BM0xxSInUSjMNDFCszM2S35lPMye3N/s400/gilles-villenueve-rene-arnoux-at-french-grand-prix.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>1979 French GP - The epic duel between Villeneuve & Arnoux.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With smoke from all four tyres, the Ferrari scrambled inside the Renault, and the two cars rounded the tight right-hander side by side. During those remaining 7 or 8 kilometers (4 or 5 mi.), no one really knows how many times they banged wheels, slid wide, went off the track, rejoined it, touched again. It was desperate in a manner not often seen in Grand Prix racing, condemned by some as irresponsible, lauded by more as heroic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The downhill left-hander into the loop is not a place for overtaking, nor even for lapping unless the back marker is unusually charitable. It follows a top gear right-hander, which dictates line astern formation Therefore, it was with considerable surprise to witness the Ferrari and the Renault emerge absolutely side by side on the last lap. Down through the left they plunged, Arnoux sliding out into Villeneuve, both cars getting way out of line on the exit.</span></div>
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René led up to the hairpin, but Gilles asked one more favour from his exhausted Michelins, braked later than late, and snatched back the place. Desperately Arnoux tried another counterattack, but Villeneuve was not giving way now. Across the line they went, the Ferrari in front. </div>
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</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There was total pandemonium. As they cruised round the slowing down lap Gilles and René saluted each other, and when they stopped, they jumped from their cars, shook hands and embraced after the race of their lives. There were no recriminations from either man.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"No," grinned Arnoux, "I am not sad to be third. I enjoyed the race very much, and Gilles drove a fantastic race. Most of all, I am pleased for Jean-Pierre. C'est justice!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3ZE5Ow_1lxzNU9Plj8LBpYRTtYj1E3ro5PrRT9E5KLKOQSd7Owh7UUdI3jCj0PkgQlz2_RjQCbHn_7DDcjg04ifUwxETYzAbwUdq58IDrUVD5ITEqxZ_swS7XdPZl8143b-BbSQwAXh7/s1600/turbocharged-engines-in-formula-one-18108_3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3ZE5Ow_1lxzNU9Plj8LBpYRTtYj1E3ro5PrRT9E5KLKOQSd7Owh7UUdI3jCj0PkgQlz2_RjQCbHn_7DDcjg04ifUwxETYzAbwUdq58IDrUVD5ITEqxZ_swS7XdPZl8143b-BbSQwAXh7/s400/turbocharged-engines-in-formula-one-18108_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>"C'est justice!" - Renault and Jabouille achieve the first turbo victory.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"I tell you, that was really fun," said Villeneuve, merry as ever. "I thought for sure we were going to get on our heads, you know, because when you start interlocking wheels it's very easy for one car to climb over another. But we didn't crash, and it's OK. Tired? Not really, I feel I could go another 40 laps, maybe..."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The same could not be said of his tyres.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Truly a race to remember, a first win for Renault, their turbo and Jean-Pierre Jabouille. And there lay the tragedy. He had driven magnificently, finished the race exhausted. The winner, French in a French car in France, however, it is the legendary battle for second place that this race will always be remembered for. Being a Canadian, Gilles Villeneuve was a childhood hero of mine. I admired him for his strong and true character, but I loved him for his racing. In 1979 at Dijon is why I and many Canadians to this day will never forget Gilles Villeneuve. He was one of the very best drivers to ever race in Formula One.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4416480278251097120.post-14583283891287342912011-08-30T11:36:00.009-04:002016-02-06T21:16:06.737-05:001984 Monaco Grand Prix - Monte Carlo<div style="text-align: justify;">
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>June 3, 1984</i></span></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">A</span>yrton </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Senna came to Europe in
1981, at the age of twenty-two, to begin his open wheel racing career
competing in British Formula Fords. He was already well known for what he had
accomplished in karting. A portfolio which included the 1977 and 1978 South American
Championship. He was also the Brazilian national champion four straight years,
from 1978 to 1981.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-CA">Ayrton won his third
ever car race at Brands Hatch on March 15th 1981, at the wheel of a Van Diemen
RF81. By the end of the season he had established himself as the man to beat,
winning the two prestigious national British Formula Ford titles. In 1982
he graduated to Formula Ford 2000, competing in both the British and European
Championships. Utterly and completely dominating the formula he won twenty-one
of the twenty-seven races contested. That season Senna also had his first
chance to race in a non-championship Formula Three race at Thruxton. He
started from pole position and won easily.</span><span lang="EN-CA"></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<table align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNX6lhL5f1JVZnUSvrfuSouB7oFvBf3ZHLQKJhUV9Z9CBlrNMChtThlTD7zFdgyBJxSODLuIxI_CCkb3Is3BdZSj9xy1UNGug6lUu-1rAEkBNLS_MEWd6HVgk546DN2u5ovFSvPckVgbYz/s1600/as-rf82.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNX6lhL5f1JVZnUSvrfuSouB7oFvBf3ZHLQKJhUV9Z9CBlrNMChtThlTD7zFdgyBJxSODLuIxI_CCkb3Is3BdZSj9xy1UNGug6lUu-1rAEkBNLS_MEWd6HVgk546DN2u5ovFSvPckVgbYz/s320/as-rf82.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">1982 FF2000 - Gaining the attention of the F1 fraternity.</span></i></div>
</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At the start of 1983
several F1 teams were keen to bankroll Senna's F3 season in return for an
option on his services. He refused them all, choosing instead to maintain his
independence and decide his own future. That year he drove for Dick
Bennetts' highly respected West Surrey racing team in the British national F3
championship. This partnership began with a formidible display of dominance as
Ayrton won the first nine races of the season and duly took the title after a
season long battle with Martin Brundle.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Bernie Eccelstone, well
known as the commercial driving force behind F1s multinational television
coverage, was in 1984 also the owner of the Brabham Formula One team.
Eccelstone was keen to have Senna drive for him, but it never materialized.
Instead Senna signed for the Toleman F1 team. While the Toleman team was
neither a top team nor particularly well financed, it did have some talented
people in it`s ranks. These included designers Rory Byrne, who went on to
design championship winning cars for Benetton and Ferrari, and Pat Symonds, who
succeeded with the team as it transitioned to Benetton and then eventually
Renault. Towards the end of the 1983 season the team began to show some
promise. It was only their third full season, but their TG183B design, in the
hands of Derek Warwick scored points in the final four races of the season.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8RiAem3f7r_okd__vGgv03Xz4wLzHNWzICaz3_Eff8xcPP9TqN5FH2XfPYELZfwIQuJOPMWj-d-js-NPfIEtt6HXnOAXDccOaAVXpnyw6a7EPkuSa0V8kesd1nrjSz4XskSrEtMiahaE/s1600/84MCGD088.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm8RiAem3f7r_okd__vGgv03Xz4wLzHNWzICaz3_Eff8xcPP9TqN5FH2XfPYELZfwIQuJOPMWj-d-js-NPfIEtt6HXnOAXDccOaAVXpnyw6a7EPkuSa0V8kesd1nrjSz4XskSrEtMiahaE/s320/84MCGD088.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="color: #a2c4c9; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">1984 Monaco GP - Senna's talent shine through.</span></i></div>
</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Senna was quick to
realize this and even at this early stage in his career Senna knew precisely
where he wanted to go and how he intended to get there. From the start of his
relationship with Toleman he displayed a finely honed analytical mind. It was
with two impressive point scoring finishes at Kyalami and Spa-Francorchamps
that Senna and Toleman would arrive for the sixth round of the season at
Monaco.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Qualifying had seen
World Championship leader Alain Prost (McLaren) take pole position with
Nigel Mansell (Lotus) second, ahead of Rene Arnoux (Ferrari), Michele Alboreto
(Ferrari), Warwick (Renault) and Patrick Tambay (Renault). Senna qualified an
admirable 13th.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Race morning was marked
by steady rain and conditions were so bad that the start of the race was
delayed for forty-five minutes. At the first corner Warwick and Tambay collided
and were out. Prost led the opening lap with Mansell giving chase, then the two
Ferraris. Senna and another talented rookie, Stefan Bellof (Tyrrell) who
started 20th, made excellent getaways from the start and at the end of lap one
were up to 9th and 11th respectively. Briefly Prost extended his lead over
Mansell. His teammate Niki Lauda (McLaren) was also going well and by lap 6 had
overtaken both Ferraris to move into 3rd place.</span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_Vv5LWEPQ4l84RA6Yy-fp0NKV6wfq5ZHa6en8MiLpNzIxqBl6Gd_e76VpXRbBiAmU2lgwQSjW56_yfc64Ab989GQtGV3YR55H_kQalpJLH37OP4rOXO1B2LOcS0nuGiS22EVsrxFpv8r/s1600/toleman1984sennamonaco0ln4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8_Vv5LWEPQ4l84RA6Yy-fp0NKV6wfq5ZHa6en8MiLpNzIxqBl6Gd_e76VpXRbBiAmU2lgwQSjW56_yfc64Ab989GQtGV3YR55H_kQalpJLH37OP4rOXO1B2LOcS0nuGiS22EVsrxFpv8r/s400/toleman1984sennamonaco0ln4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">1984 Monaco GP - Plumes of spray as Senna enters Tabac</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On lap 10 the
Englishman's Lotus was right up with the McLaren and on the following lap
Mansell passed Prost for the lead. By this time both Senna and Bellof continued
their steady charge through the field despite the treacherous conditions. Senna
was 6th and threatening Keke Rosberg (Williams) for fifth, and Bellof was 8th
immediately behind his compatriot Manfred Winkelhock (ATS). Leading a Grand
Prix for the first time now Mansell began building a gap. The weather, however,
continued to downpour unabated and on lap 16 when, going up the hill to Casino
Square, with the power hard on, he touched the painted white line in the road
with one of his rear wheels. The car flicked right, then left, before clouting
the Armco barrier on both sides of the track. With his rear wing now askew and
his suspension broken, Mansell tried to limp back to the pits but spun at
Mirabeau and retired. By this time Senna had found a way past Rosberg and
Arnoux. He was simply flourishing in the incredibly challenging conditions
holding 3rd on merit and closing now on Lauda in second. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Within two
laps of Mansell's retirement on lap 19 he overtook Lauda to take second place
and began to chase Prost, who was half a minute ahead. Five laps later Lauda
crashed in Casino Square. As Senna chased Prost so attention focussed on Bellof
who was up to fourth place from last on the grid. It was a mighty performance.
On lap 27 Bellof blasted past Arnoux to take third place and set off in
pursuit of Senna. As Senna closed on Prost so Bellof closed on the pair of
them.</span></span></div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnylq2XsQLShYbcntvUc2XBS8Qks1uYHYP9iFHsm4FZX_rv4Nkmckno3QdhNEhQ8hwHF9NdQrXIbolVpZBSOnbTLm-Plt1Js5MxhHgGWT9io54miFKEaR5VsPeElm8vaj80XLlDWAR7Qt3/s1600/15682.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnylq2XsQLShYbcntvUc2XBS8Qks1uYHYP9iFHsm4FZX_rv4Nkmckno3QdhNEhQ8hwHF9NdQrXIbolVpZBSOnbTLm-Plt1Js5MxhHgGWT9io54miFKEaR5VsPeElm8vaj80XLlDWAR7Qt3/s200/15682.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">Stefan Bellof - What might have been ....</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By lap 28 Senna had
reduced the gap between himself and Prost by an incredible ten seconds, and it
was at this time that Prost began gesturing to the flag stand to stop the race.
By lap 31 was just seven seconds adrift, with Bellof inching ever closer to the
Brazilian. But the world was denied the spectacle of one of these two young
geniuses clinching his first victory in only his sixth Grand Prix, when red
flags were produced, stopping the race. </span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jacky Ickx
who was the clerk of the course and a renowned wet-weather expert in his days
in Formula One, found himself in the midst of a political storm as he was
accused of deliberately stopping the race to ensure Prost won. In fact he did
stop the race upon his own decision and did not consult the race stewards
before doing so. Adding fuel to the controversy was the fact that Ickx drove
for Porsche in sports car racing, and so it was insinuated that he wanted
Prost, who was powered by a Porsche-built engine, to win. Ickx was later fined
$6000 by FISA and had his clerk's license suspended. Many people
rightfully pointed out that the rain was falling as hard when the race was
stopped as at any time in the afternoon.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju43LeefAMpjb8xbWHCHhXvB-620uSqx-tilP4fkivPmvMggjSzM95JEsIX71bLt7sioB-5_34y5PcquY1cPIa91i5DFYeqsoiX_IILZu6skYZSkjIrINrsBSPRztV8F_JQlv_-wcv8PPO/s1600/toleman1984sennamonaco0kn0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju43LeefAMpjb8xbWHCHhXvB-620uSqx-tilP4fkivPmvMggjSzM95JEsIX71bLt7sioB-5_34y5PcquY1cPIa91i5DFYeqsoiX_IILZu6skYZSkjIrINrsBSPRztV8F_JQlv_-wcv8PPO/s400/toleman1984sennamonaco0kn0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #a2c4c9;">1984 Monaco GP - Senna's first podium after an astonishing performance.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It would have been truly
mesmerizing to witness what would have happened if the race had been allowed to
run it's course, but unfortunately we are left only to speculate. Still this
race marked the emergence of the new breed of racers in Formula One. Prost
and Senna went on to become the dominant drivers of their era. But Bellof, who
surely would have challenged them for that distinction, was killed in a sports
car race at Spa-Francorchamps, ironically trying to pass Ickx's Porsche through
Eau Rouge, a little over a year later.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What might have been
.....</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1