Predicting the future ? or the way things to come ?
Germany ~v~ Brazil
Barrichello (Brazil) over Schumaher (Germany)
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Ferrari Allow Barrichello to Win - European GP
Sunday June 23rd, 2002
By Will Gray
Brazilian Rubens Barrichello claimed his second career victory in Sunday's European Grand Prix when Ferrari team orders did not force him to give up the race win for his Championship leading teammate Michael Schumacher.
The Italian team controlled the race from the start, choosing a two-stop strategy to beat their rivals, and Barrichello was stayed ahead and take the win despite being hounded by Schumacher to the end. It is just three days before Ferrari appear in front of the FIA over the Austrian debacle and Ferrari showed some fear over retribution as they avoided giving the order.
Closest rival Juan Pablo Montoya, who had started from pole in the Williams-BMW, lost out on the chance to fight for victory when he collided with Briton David Coulthard, of McLaren-Mercedes.
Coulthard's Finnish teammate Kimi Raikkonen was third after a solid drive to keep ahead of fourth-placed Ralf Schumacher, of Williams-BMW, with Briton Jenson Button fifth for Renault and Brazilian Felipe Massa claiming the final point for Sauber.
Pole man Juan Pablo Montoya made an ideal start to lead his teammate Ralf Schumacher into turn one as most of the field avoided the predicted collisions by using all the track in the very wide new corner.
But as the back of the field closed together, Italian Giancarlo Fisichella braked late and slid into his Japanese Jordan teammate Takuma Sato, causing them both to spin and the pair came in together at the end of lap one.
Back at the front, the order changed dramatically as both Ralf Schumacher and Barrichello passed Montoya. Barrichello then moved into the lead before Michael Schumacher passed Montoya with a perfect move in the final chicane.
After a jostling first lap, the lead pack settled with Barrichello ahead of the two Schumachers, Ralf and Michael, with Montoya fourth and the McLaren pair of Coulthard and Raikkonen close behind. World Champion Schumacher was hot on the tail of his brother Ralf for the next couple of laps, and finally passed him into the RTL curve on lap three to move into second place with another perfectly executed move.
Jarno Trulli, who had been running in eighth, dropped down to 12th on lap four after trying to pass his Renault teammate Button into the first corner and running wide as a result. But the Italian soon began his fight back and moved into the top ten when he passed Scot Allan McNish, of Toyota, on lap ten.
Button, meanwhile, was pushing Raikkonen for sixth place and passed him on lap 17, when the young Finn succumbed to the pressure, made a mistake coming into the first corner and ran wide.
The Renault pair of Trulli and Button pitted on laps 21 and 22 respectively, briefly dropping them down the order, and one lap later Schumacher made an uncharacteristic spin in his Ferrari and lost ten seconds on his leading teammate.
The Ferrari pair came into the pits in consecutive laps, with Schumacher first on lap 24 and Barrichello on lap 25. Both were stationary for 8.6 seconds and the positions remained the same, with Barrichello still ahead of Schumacher.
Behind them, the Williams-BMW pair remained in position, but Coulthard, in fifth, was pushing rival Montoya, whose tyres were becoming worse and worse every lap. Coulthard challenged on the outside of the first corner as the pair began their 28th lap, and when Montoya clipped the kerb on the inside he could not avoid sliding into his rival.
The pair span out, Montoya's left rear tyre clashing with Coulthard's front right, and both drivers were forced to climb out of their cars as they were too damaged to continue. A small clap of applause in the direction of Montoya pointed out Coulthard's views on the matter.
That left Raikkonen in third, with Ralf Schumacher fourth, but the remaining Williams driver pitted on lap 30 and his 11.5-second stop would eventually cost him his place.
Both Alex Yoong, of Minardi, and Eddie Irvine, in a Jaguar, spun as they entered the pit lane on laps 32 and 33 respectively, and both were forced to retire later in the race. Raikkonen then made his second stop, on lap 35, and maintained his third position ahead of Button but dropped back to within two seconds of his rival as a potential battle was set up.
But Button still had to pit again, and that dropped him away from Raikkonen and behind the waiting Ralf Schumacher, who moved up to fourth. At the front, the Ferraris were still driving within three seconds of each other, and both had to pit again. Thoughts of team orders surfaced again, but the team did not employ them in the pit stops.
Schumacher came in first, on lap 43, and stopped for 7.8 seconds. Barrichello was next the following lap and remained stationary for 7.6 seconds. The positions remained the same. Mika Salo's race ended five laps from the end, and he joined just five others, Fisichella, Coulthard, Montoya, Irvine and Yoong as retirements in what had turned out to be a reliable race.
For the following laps, Schumacher closed on Barrichello, moving to within one second of him. In the media centre, in the paddock, and all around the circuit, there was an air of anticipation, waiting for the Italian team to repeat their team order in Austria once again.
The Ferraris continued to race nose to tail for lap after lap and Schumacher closed in the final corner. But Barrichello continued across the line and took the victory.
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