Australian GP - Melbourne 9 March 2003
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If FIA wanted action in 2003, action they got in the opening race, though it was down to the weather much as it was to the new regulations. The Melbourne weather system felt capricious and refused to let known what it had in store, putting out rain and dry at intermittent intervals during the weekend. Teams had a hard time deciding what type of tyres to go out on. Ferrari and McLaren opted for the intermediate compound, while Williams chose dry tyres. Kimi Räikkönen took a leaf out of Minardi's book and chose to go into the pits at the end of the installation lap, forcing himself to start from the pitlane instead of his 15th place on the grid, but enabling himself to have a full refueling pit stop and change to dry tyres before the race started. Verstappen also started from the pit lane. Much to everybody's expectations the two Ferrari shot out into the lead from the front row in the approved and correct order (M. Schumacher in front of Barrichello second). The rest of the field started disappearing into the distance and the spectators settled for a replay of much of last year's season. That's when the tyre choice came into effect. After a few laps the track dried out and the two Ferrari started losing ground to the cars on dry tyres, but M. Schumacher chose to gamble with the weather and stayed out on intermediate, hoping for the promised rain to come. Coulthard, instead, when in as soon as possible and changed to dry tyres. Barrichello managed six more laps than last season, when he didn't even make it to the first corner thanks to R. Schumacher, but lost control of the car, perhaps because of oil left on the track by one of the previous events, and flew into the wall moments after being informed that he had been given a drive-through penalty for jumping the start. Within a few laps what appeared destined to be yet another Ferrari walk-through had turned on its head. With his team mate out, M. Schumacher finally acknowledged that he was on the wrong tyres and went for an unscheduled pit stop, giving the lead to Montoya. A duel later ensued between M. Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen, with the Finn refusing to give way to the German despite the pressure. Uncharacteristically, a frustrated M. Schumacher was finally forced to make a mistake while trying to pass the McLaren and he ended up taking a trip on the grass, damaging the underside of his car. The risk was not worth taking, it emerged shortly afterwards, as Räikkönen was handed a drive-through penalty for speeding by just one km/h in the pit lane. M. Schumacher's damaged car played its part later on, when both bargeboards became detached, with one hanging under the car. On lap 48 the German was shown the red flag with yellow dot, meaning that he had to go to the pits for his mechanics to fix the problem and stop him from becoming a danger to others. The pit stop and the ruined aerodynamics spelled the end of the reigning World Champion's attempts at winning the race. M. Schumacher settled for fourth place and still showed off his skill by keeping up with Räikkönen and Montoya on undamaged cars. The battle between Räikkönen and M. Schumacher eventually ended with Montoya left in the lead, but the Colombian spoiled his chances of a win by spinning with only 10 laps to go, perhaps because of traction control problems. Coulthard, who had kept a low profile for most of the race, thanked the Williams driver and took the lead to go on and win the first Grand Prix of the 2003 season. The safety car played its part too, being deployed twice within the first 20 laps, first when Barrichello and newcomer Ralph Firman crashed in exactly the same spot within a lap of each other, then when Webber's Jaguar suffered a suspension failure. Renault, Sauber and BAR all went for it and eventually Renault managed to put two cars in the points (from this year points are awarded to first eight finishers). Amongst the racing there was time for comedy too. Villeneuve's radio malfunctioned and the Canadian failed to hear his mechanics telling him to come in for the pit stop. He eventually did - on new team mates Button's pit lap - forcing the Briton to wait patiently in a queue in the pits while Villeneuve's car was being serviced. It must be noted that Williams had pulled a similar stunt earlier on, but theirs was planned and went like clockwork, with one car arriving just as the other left the pit area. Fede's comment: So, are the new regulations making for a more exciting race? Maybe. The Australian GP was certainly more exciting than most of the 2002 season, but my personal feeling is that the weather conditions, drivers' errors and teams' strategies had more to do with the spectacle than the new rules. The second point is whether Ferrari are now less dominant than last year. It cannot be denied that Williams and McLaren are closer to the prancing horse than they were last season, but Ferrari was still faster, though the team made uncharacteristic tactical errors and M. Schumacher did not help by damaging his car and losing the bargeboards. The jury is still out on this one, but the next couple of races should give a clearer picture of the balance of forces at play. Let us also not forget Renault's performance. At the unveiling the team stated that they want to challenge for the Championship soon. If today's result is anything to go by, they are certainly moving in that direction, though this season is still too early for them. Next appointment is Malaysia on 23 March. Australian GP results:
1. David Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) 1h 34'42"124 (average 194,868 km/h) |
| Images from Raisport and Il Corriere della Sera |
