Montoya keeps cool as rivals wilt in heat

Published : Aug 16, 2003 00:00 IST

Formula One took a dramatic turn as three of the top five drivers in points crashed one another out at the start of a scorching-hot German Grand Prix, while a blown tyre knocked the series leader from second in the race to seventh with five laps to go.

BRAD SPURGEONNew York Times News Service

Formula One took a dramatic turn as three of the top five drivers in points crashed one another out at the start of a scorching-hot German Grand Prix, while a blown tyre knocked the series leader from second in the race to seventh with five laps to go.

Through it all, Juan Pablo Montoya dominated for the victory in his Williams-BMW and rose from third to second in the series standing, just six points behind Michael Schumacher with four races to go.

"A perfect finish to a perfect race weekend,'' said Montoya, who also won the pole and beat the second-place finisher, David Coulthard, by more than a minute. "It was amazing how I could pull away, and maybe because of this it was not too bad a race from the physical point of view.''

Indeed, Montoya looked fresh as he leapt out of his car punching his fists in the air after his second victory of the season, raced in temperatures of 95 degrees that wore out several drivers, and with a track temperature of nearly 122 degrees that punished the tyres.

Less well prepared for the heat from the air and from race stewards was Montoya's teammate, Ralf Schumacher. After the race, stewards announced that he had been punished for causing the accident at the start, and he will be pushed back by 10 spots on the grid at the next race, the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest on Aug. 24.

The three-way collision eliminated Kimi Raikkonen, Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. The three drivers were second, fourth and fifth in points entering the race. The Williams team said it would appeal the penalty.

Montoya, 27, sped into the lead at the start while Raikkonen catapulted his McLaren-Mercedes from fifth position up the left side of the track and around Barrichello, who started third. Ralf Schumacher, who started second, came around the other side of Barrichello as Barrichello's Ferrari became sandwiched between the McLaren and the Williams, and the three cars collided.

Raikkonen spun violently into the safety barrier and bruised his leg as his car flew into pieces. Barrichello's front left wheel broke off, ending his race, while Schumacher nursed his car back to the pits. But Schumacher's car was too badly damaged for him to continue.

"You cannot think about what people around you are doing, and sometimes these incidents do happen,'' Schumacher said. "I was just trying to defend my position.''

The resulting confusion caused the pack of cars behind to slow suddenly, and Ralph Firman, who started 18th in a Jordan, ran into the back of Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Sauber. Firman then hit Justin Wilson's Jaguar.

Although Wilson made a pit stop and rejoined the race, he dropped out after 11 laps with a gearbox problem, and the race had effectively lost six cars through the mayhem.

The safety car was deployed and the debris cleaned up before the race continued at the end of Lap 3 with Montoya still in the lead. The two Renault drivers, Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso, were in second and third while Michael Schumacher was fourth after starting sixth. Coulthard, in the other McLaren, rose from 10th to sixth.

Although three of Michael Schumacher's main contenders were knocked out by the first corner, the two Renaults that separated him from Montoya made this one of his toughest and disappointing races. Schumacher, 34, trailed the Renaults most of the race while Montoya sped off.

After failing to get past the Renaults through the first series of pit stops on Laps 14 to 18, Schumacher finally passed Alonso on Lap 32.

By then, however, Montoya led Trulli by 26.7 seconds and made his second pit stop on the next lap in 6.4 seconds, returning with a comfortable lead.

Incapable of getting past Trulli on the track, it looked as if Schumacher might do so during a pit-stop shootout on Lap 38 when the two came in at the same time. Ferrari is renowned for its speed in tyre changing and refueling, but Renault came out ahead again as Schumacher's stop lasted 11.2 seconds while Trulli's lasted 10.

Schumacher finally muscled past Trulli at the hairpin on Lap 59. Montoya was 55.3 seconds ahead but was not satisfied as he knew his victory would only give him two more points than Schumacher if Schumacher finished second.

"I thought he is so lucky, always getting second, even from nowhere,'' Montoya said. "But I thought some day his luck is going to run out, and it was today.''

Four laps later, Schumacher's rear left tyre blew out and he was forced into the pits for a tyre change. He dropped to seventh place and collected only two points.

The results (German Grand Prix, 67 laps on the 4.57-km, 2.84-mile, Hockenheim circuit): 1. Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombia, Williams-BMW, 67 laps, 1 hour, 28 minutes, 48.769 seconds, 207.036 kph (128.674 mph); 2. David Coulthard, Britain, McLaren-Mercedes, 67, 65.459 seconds behind, 1:29:54.228; 3. Jarno Trulli, Italy, Renault, 67, 69.060, 1:29:57.829; 4. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Renault, 67, 69.344, 1:29:58.113; 5. Olivier Panis, France, Toyota, 66, 1:29:03.793; 6. Cristiano Da Matta, Brazil, Toyota, 66, 1:29:08.431; 7. Michael Schumacher, Germany, Ferrari, 66, 1:29:27.850; 8. Jenson Button, Britain, BAR-Honda, 66, 1:30:03.430; 9. Jacques Villeneuve, Canada, BAR-Honda, 65, 1:29:03.268; 10. Nick Heidfeld, Germany, Sauber-Petronas, 65, 1:29:10.277; 11. Mark Webber, Australia, Jaguar, 64, 1:27.25.026; 12. Nicolas Kiesa, Denmark, Minardi-Cosworth, 62, 1:29:01.105; 13. Giancarlo Fisichella, Italy, Jordan-Ford, 60, 1:26:53.856.

Drivers' standings (after 12 races): 1. Michael Schumacher, Germany, Ferrari, 71; 2. Juan Pablo Montoya, Colombia, Williams-BMW, 65; 3. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, McLaren-Mercedes, 62; 4. Ralf Schumacher, Germany, Williams-BMW, 53; 5. Rubens Barrichello, Brazil, Ferrari, 49; 6. Fernando Alonso, Spain, Renault, 44; 7. David Coulthard, Britain, McLaren-Mercedes, 41; 8. Jarno Trulli, Italy, Renault, 22; 9. Jenson Button, Britain, BAR-Honda, 12; 10. Mark Webber, Australia, Jaguar, 12; 11. Giancarlo Fisichella, Italy, Jordan-Ford, 10; 12. Cristiano Da Matta, Brazil, Toyota, 8; 13. Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Germany, Sauber-Petronas, 7; 14. Olivier Panis, France, Toyota, 6; 15. Jacques Villeneuve, Canada, BAR-Honda, 3; 16. Nick Heidfeld, Germany, Sauber-Petronas, 2; 17. Ralph Firman, Ireland, Jordan-Ford, 1.

Constructors' standings:1. Ferrari, 120; 2. Williams-BMW, 118.

3. McLaren-Mercedes, 103; 4. Renault, 66; 5. BAR-Honda, 15; 6. Toyota, 14; 7. Jaguar, 12; 8. Jordan-Ford, 11; 9. Sauber-Petronas, 9.

More stories from this issue

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment