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Posted By	Discussion Topic: Formula 1 Britsh Grand Prix
NYR2119935	posted on 07-14-2001 @ 12:40 PM
Psychopath Registered: May. 00	http://www.speedvision.com/pub/articles/racing/01formula1/010714b.html One day, you’ll be telling your grandkids about Michael Schumacher. Love him or hate him, the three-time World Champion continues to achieve and amaze with every successive race, and this season may go down in history as his finest. He wrote another chapter in the book today, emerging atop the timesheets at the end of a wild qualifying shootout at Silverstone to take the pole for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix, the 40th pole of his illustrious career and his eighth this season from 11 attempts. Ironically, it is his first British Grand Prix pole. Schumacher lapped the historic 3.19mi airfield course with an incredible lap at 1:20.447/142.952mph, smashing last year’s pole time set by Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello (1:25.708) and his own track record (1:24.475). McLaren teammates Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard were second and third, ahead of the very competitive Jordan teammates Jarno Trulli and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Barrichello was sixth, ahead of Sauber’s Kimi Raikkonen, with Williams teammates Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher taking eighth and 10th, respectively, sandwiching Raikkonen’s teammate Nick Heidfeld. Following this morning’s rainy practice sessions, the sun came out for qualifying, but as the hour began the track was still wet in spots and the teams decided to wait for everything to dry sufficiently. It was 25min into the hour before Raikkonen made the first tentative lap, followed immediately by the session’s first timed lap at 1:25.071. He got to enjoy the distinction for 5min while the flood gates began to open and cars streamed onto the track. Hakkinen shot to the top of the charts at the 30min mark with a track-record 1:22.217, with Coulthard following at 1:22.353. That was certainly impressive, being more than .5sec faster than Hakkinen’s fastest lap in dry Friday practice, but there was more to come. In the next minute, Michael answered with a staggering 1:21.458, upping the ante by more than .75sec and firing a bullet straight into the heart of McLaren’s aspirations. When the teams came out for their second runs, Coulthard drew cheers from his home crowd with a 1:21.119 at the 43min mark, sparking hope that perhaps McLaren had the answer for Ferrari after all. Hakkinen reinforced that notion, although dashing the aspirations of Coulthard’s fans, by breaking the 1:21 barrier with a 1:20.897 at the 45min mark and then improving upon that to a 1:20.626 at 49min. It looked like that would be it; that no one could possibly go faster. That’s where Michael Schumacher comes in. After an aborted attempt, he came roaring back at the 53min mark with his ultimate 1:20.447, spearing the ball straight back into McLaren’s court. In the final moments, as could have been predicted, there was a full-scale land rush out of the garages into the pit lane, making it almost impossible for anyone to improve their time. Of the top three pole battlers, only Hakkinen was able to improve, but his 1:20.529 was traffic-delayed and not enough to deny Michael’s pole. The Jordan duo of Trulli and Frentzen have been fast all weekend, but had to struggle in qualifying. They got a late start, and it was well into the second half of the session before Frentzen was able to get above the 107pct barrier. Trulli actually came within .003sec of taking third from Coulthard, which must drive their Honda-engined rivals at BAR nuts. Barrichello was mired in sixth by traffic, while Raikkonen continued to polish up his resume with a stellar drive to seventh. Juan Pablo Montoya was both lucky and good to get eighth, the best of the two Williams/BMWs, after a suspension problem on his primary car forced him to switch mid-session to the back-up, which had been set up for teammate Ralf Schumacher. Raikkonen’s teammate Nick Heidfeld and Ralf filled out the top 10, only the second time this season that he has been out-qualified by Montoya. BAR teammates Olivier Panis and Jacques Villeneuve were 11th and 12th, respectively, ahead of Prost’s Jean Alesi, who bumped Jaguar’s Eddie Irvine out of his customary 13th position. Again the junior teammates followed, Prost’s Luciano Burti going 15th and Jaguar’s Pedro de la Rosa 16th. Arrows’ Jos Verstappen and Enrique Bernoldi had been running like they were tied together all weekend to date, but they were split in qualifying by the minutely improved Benettons. Verstappen wound up 17th, ahead of Jenson Button, Giancarlo Fisichella (out-qualified by his teammate for the first time this year) and Bernoldi. The Minardis were once again slowest, Tarso Marques failing to make the 107pct cut-off point. He will have to rely on the kindness of FIA marshals to make the race. It may have been a half-session in effect due to the rain, but the fans sure got their money’s worth. It was a qualifying battle that will be long remembered. For Michael, it seemed like just another day at the office. "This was a difficult and interesting session," he said, "as everyone waited for almost half an hour before leaving the pits. This meant there was not much time to get in the four runs and improve the car. This was complicated by the fact we had no dry running this morning. "Then the timing monitors failed and, although we knew the lap times, we could not see the sector times, which can be useful in analyzing where we need to improve. So it was quite an exciting session. We made small changes to the car before each run, to suit the track and the conditions. "It's good to be on pole, as it is an advantage, and although we are in a strong position in the championship, there are still 70 points available this season. As for the race, I don't really mind what conditions we have, but I would prefer a dry race, which is more consistent and safer, and I hope it is entertaining for the spectators." Hakkinen described his unsuccessful final attempt as a juggling act. "We went out 2min before the end," he said, "and there were about six or seven cars right in front of me. Before the last corner of my out lap I slowed to try to make a gap, but couldn't open up as big a gap as I wanted because David was just behind me. So if I'd waited until the last moment, he might not have got ‘round in time to start a flying lap. "I’m pleased to be back at the front and also to be so close to pole position," he continued. "What makes it even better is that the car is performing well and is extremely enjoyable to drive. I’m confident for the race tomorrow, as we have found a consistent performance from the car and the tires are working well. Today I was able to drive flat-out and the front end worked really well and I could push hard." Coulthard was a little disappointed not to have done better, but acknowledged it was very close. "It would have been nice to have been on the front row for my home Grand Prix, but it was an extremely close session. The changing track conditions we have experienced so far here at Silverstone made it difficult for me to find the optimum balance. I hope it stays dry tomorrow, particularly because the spectators deserve a dry and sunny race." British racing fans are among the world’s most knowledgeable and passionate, and if they can see action as good as this in tomorrow’s race, they likely won’t care what the weather is like. Don’t Forget: As always, Speedvision will have exclusive television coverage of this weekend’s British Grand Prix. If you missed today’s live qualifying session, it will be rebroadcast at 12:00 noon EDT, and tomorrow’s live race broadcast will begin at 7:30 a.m. Qualifying results, British Grand Prix: 1) Michael Schumacher, No. 1 Ferrari/Bridgestone, 1:20.447/142.952mph 2) Mika Hakkinen, No. 3 McLaren/Mercedes/Bridgestone, 1:20.529 3) David Coulthard, No. 4 McLaren/Mercedes/Bridgestone, 1:20.927 4) Jarno Trulli, No. 12 Jordan/Honda/Bridgestone, 1:20.930 5) Heinz-Harald Frentzen, No. 11 Jordan/Honda/Bridgestone, 1:21.217 6) Rubens Barrichello, No. 2 Ferrari/Bridgestone, 1:21.715 7) Kimi Raikkonen, No. 17 Sauber/Petronas/Bridgestone, 1:22.023 8) Juan Pablo Montoya, No. 6 Williams/BMW/Michelin, 1:22.219 9) Nick Heidfeld, No. 16 Sauber/Petronas/Bridgestone, 1:22.223 10) Ralf Schumacher, No. 5 Williams/BMW/Michelin, 1:22.283 11) Olivier Panis, No. 10 BAR/Honda/Bridgestone, 1:22.316 12) Jacques Villeneuve, No. 9 BAR/Honda/Bridgestone, 1:22.916 13) Jean Alesi, No. 22 Prost/Acer/Michelin, 1:23.273 14) Eddie Irvine, No. 18 Jaguar/Cosworth/Michelin, 1:23.392 15) Luciano Burti, No. 23 Prost/Acer/Michelin, 1:23.439 16) Pedro de la Rosa, No. 19 Jaguar/Cosworth/Michelin, 1:23.735 17) Jos Verstappen, No. 14 Arrows/Asiatech/Bridgestone, 1:24.067 18) Jenson Button, No. 8 Benetton/Renault/Michelin, 1:24.123 19) Giancarlo Fisichella, No. 7 Benetton/Renault/Michelin, 1:24.275 20) Enrique Bernoldi, No. 15 Arrows/Asiatech/Bridgestone, 1:24.606 21) Fernando Alonso, No. 20 Minardi/European/Michelin, 1:24.792 22) Tarso Marques, No. 21 Minardi/European/Michelin, 1:26.506 CART Taco Bell Ice Hockey MetallicA
Francine Banger	posted on 07-14-2001 @ 5:19 PM
O&A Board Regular Registered: Dec. 00	Can you put all this Fuckin Shit that nobody cares about in One Single Thread!!! and quit clogging up this forum with this crap. Every day its a new thread about a new race that nobody cares about. Im going to start posting threads about the Big Wheel races that the 6 year olds on my block race.
mikeWOW I got a staple in my ass and all I got was this status	posted on 07-14-2001 @ 5:28 PM
O&A Board Regular Registered: Sep. 00	banger- where do u live?? i wanna go to those races?? the 6 year olds in my hood are mad fast.. hahahaha-- ur sooo right i replied to soo many topics about putting all stupid nascar shit in one thread!! "i hate people that dont get it!"

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