Formula One is back,and ITV will again bring you all the coverage of this season,and after months of winter testing,here are the confirmed driver line ups for this season:
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Michael Schumacher
Rubens Barrichello
West Mclaren Mercedes
Mika Hakkinen
David Coulthard
BMW WilliamsF1 Team
Ralf Schumacher
Juan Pablo Montoya
Mild Seven Benetton Renault
Giancarlo Fisichella
Jenson Button
Lucky Strike BAR Honda
Olivier Panis
Jacques Villeneuve
B&H Jordan Honda
Heinz-Harold Frentzen
Jarno Trulli
Orange Arrows Asiatech
Jos Verstappen
Enrique Bernoldi
Red Bull Sauber Petronas
Nick Heidfeld
Kimi Raikkonen
Jaguar Racing
Eddie Irvine
Mark Stewart
European MinardiF1
Tarso Marques
Fernando Alonso
Prost Acer
Jean Alesi
Gaston Mazzacane
2001 sees a huge number of rookie drivers,one of them being Mark Stewart,driving for the all British team Jaguar.He will be our main focus this season.He impressed us in his move up to Formula One,winning the Formula 3000 championship last year,and has looked considerably faster than team-mate Eddie Irvine.
New rule changes for 2001,the front wing has been lifted by 50mm,meaning the front of the car works less efficiently,and it also hurts the rear of the car too,so the drivers should really be working hard at the wheel.And a new tyre suplier Michelin,competition between the two tyre supliers has made this years cars go even quicker than last year,even though the aerodynamic changes were meant to slow the cars down.
Join us tomorrow for the opening weekend of the 2001 FIA Formula One World Championship,from Melbourne,Australia.
Michael Schumacher Leads The Way On A Dry Wet Friday!
Friday 2nd March 2001,Melbourne Australia.
Friday morning in Australia brings sunshine,but the temperature cool,with a forecast of showers later on.The drivers arrive at the track early in the morning,for the first practice session of the season.The first race,has always been a great spectacle in Melbourne,with its laid back party atmosphere.Brand new cars,new tyres and 5 new drivers should make this season very exciting.
The green light at the end of the pit lane comes on and F1 2001 is officially under way.Both Minardi's open up the session,with their sights set on moving off the back row of the grid,with new boss Paul Stoddart.The car has looked a much better one than in recent times.But in the dry conditions of Practice One,they could not get off the back,with Alonso in 21st,0.6 seconds behind the rest of the field,and Marques 22nd,0.3 seconds behind his team-mate.In the wet conditions of Practice Two,they faired better,Alonso 19th and Marques 20th.
The Prost team's car was extremely fast in winter testing,but slipped down the field on Friday,although experienced Jean Alesi managed to get to 14th in Practice One and 5th in Practice Two.But Massacane's late replacement Burti didn't fair well,20th and 21st on Friday.
Jaguar's first season didn't go as planned last year,scoring just 4 points,with the experienced British pair of Irvine and Herbert.Irvine stays at Jaguar this year,and Herbert's retirement brings in rookie Mark Stewart,fresh from winning the F3000 championship last year.The car,looked alot more reliable in winter than last year and it got Irvine to 11th in both sessions.Stewart's Friday was eventful,a spin after just a few laps of the track,without damage.He ran in 15th for most of the first session,as he was focusing on some long runs to get used to the track,but a quick blitz at the end of the session got him up to 7th,just 0.131 off the fastest time.Session two he was 13th,when he came out to do his first lap it started to rain even harder,so the track wasn't as good.He only did one set of laps in session two,after going off and knocking off his front wing.
Sauber opted for little experience in their driver line up,with Nick Heidfeld,with one season under his belt,and Fin Kimi Raikkonen,who's graduation to F1 has caused some speculation that he is too inexperienced,having only had one and a half seasons of open wheel racing,although that bought him the British Formula Renault championship.Nick Heidfeld was 13th and 17th and Raikkonen 12th in both sessions.
Arrows started in winter by changing engine suppliers again,to Asiatech engines,and bringing in rookie Enrique Bernoldi,who has brought some Red Bull sponsership.Arrows also retained Verstappen,with him 18th and 16th and Bernoldi 19th and 22nd.
Jordan came here after a miserable last season.In 1999 Heinz-Harold Frentzen came close to winning the title,and the team finished 3rd in the championship.Last year,they slumped to 6th.They needed a big improvement,and in the winter it looked like they had done it,topping the time sheets regularly.The team still retained Frentzen and Trulli for this year.But the team don't seem to have made a step forward,Trulli 9th and 14th,and Frentzen 10th and 6th.
BAR retain 97 champion J.Villeneuve,and Panis joins them after spending last year the test driver for Mclaren.The team would like an improvement from their 5th place last year,Villeneuve 8th and 9th and Panis 15th and 10th on Friday.
Benetton finished best of the rest in 4th last year,and they have Renault coming back to the sport as an engine supplier,to help them fight with the top 3 teams.Fisichella is in his 4th season with the team,and they loan Button,after a superb debut season with Williams.But the cars seem to have taken a step backwards,with Fisichella 16th and 15,and Button 17th and 18th today.
Last year saw Williams' return to form,scoring 3 podiums in BMW's return to F1.This year their car looks even better,with Ralf Schumacher and ex F3000 and CART champion J.P.Montoya.Their car looks to be fighting with Mclaren and Ferrari for wins,R.Schumacher 3rd and 4th,and Montoya 2nd and 8th.
Mclaren were narrowly pipped to both titles last year by Ferrari,so this year their aim is to get back to winning those championships.Mclaren retain Mika Hakkinen and David Coulhthard for the 6th consecutive season.Hakkinen 4th and 2nd and Coulthard off the pace in 6th and 7th.
Last year,Ferrari won both championships,getting their 2nd constructors championship in a row and getting their 1st drivers title in 21 years.This year of course,they will be looking to retain those titles,with an even better car than last year,and world champion Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello at the wheel.Schumi was fastest in both sessions,but the rest of the field were close,and Barrichello 3rd and 5th.
M.Stewart:Today was a good day for me,I enjoyed learning the track,its quite easy.I had a spin early on in Practice One,then In the wet i went straight on at a turn at knocked my wing off.But the team were ok with it,and I was ok with how the day went,getting to just 1 tenth behind Michael Schumacher is a great achivement for me.I didn't do alot of running in the wet as their wasn't any forecast for showers in qualifying or the rain,so it was pointless.I think that tomorrow,if I get into the top 10,it will be job well done for me.
No one knows who will get pole in this afternoons qualifying,after a wet dry morning.
Minardi are still having problems with their cars,both drivers didn't get off the back of the field in the difficult conditions,Alonso 21st and Marques 22nd in both sessions.
Prost seem have moved up slightly,especially with the experience of Alesi.Despite crashing in the first practice this morning,he was 13th in both sessions,and Burti 19th in both.
Irvine in his Jaguar had similar day to yesterday,11th and 10th.But Stewart didn't fair well.He did not get into any trouble,apart from a slow Minardi forcing him on the grass,in the wet conditions of Practice One,he was only 14th,and the wet-dry conditions in the next session he fair even worse,languishing in 20th place.
Sauber's young drivers don't seem to be able to get the team into the top 10,which is their target.Heidfeld 12th in both sessions and Raikkonen 17th and 11th.
Arrows seem to have lost speed from last year.Their engine change seems to have brought them less power.Verstappen 16th and 17th,whilst rookie Bernoldi was 20th and 18th.
Jordan are still languishing behind the top 3 teams,although in the 1st session,Frentzen did show some promise,with 4th,then dropped to 8th in session two,Trulli 8th and 9th.
At this moment,BAR look slightly slower than their Honda rivals,now that Jordan now have works Honda engines,along with BAR.Villeneuve was 10th and 7th,and Panis 7th and 14th.
Benetton really have dropped back from last year.Its not been a good weekend.Button added to the misery by crashing in Practice One.Fisichella 15th in both sessions,Button 18th and 16th.
Williams really have shown that they can cut it with the top two.They have the most powerful engine,and their car is just a great piece of work.R.Schumacher was 5th in practice one,but went to the top of the time sheets in practice two.Montoya is having a good debut,6th and 4th.
Mclaren still cant get to the top,but Hakkinen was just behind Schumi in Practice One in 2nd,but dropped 6th in session two.Coulthard is still having a mixed weekend,in the 1st session he was 9th,and in the dry he was 3rd.
Ferrari still look to be the class of the field,they look like the team to beat this year.Schumi was 1st and 2nd,while Barrichello was 3rd and 5th.
M.Stewart:It was difficult out there this morning,I coped alright with the drizzle of the 1st session,but in session two,it started to dry,but there was only a really thin dry line,so you really had to stick to that,or else you just lose grip,and I like to use all the track I can.But quali should be dry,so im confident of getting into the top 10.
The only scare of the morning for Stewart was being nudged off by a Minardi.
Jaguar rookie driver Mark Stewart will start on pole for the Australian Grand Prix here in Albert Park in Melbourne.
The session was dry,and the usual 30c heat of the Australian autumn.R.Barrichello set the early pace,then after 15 minutes,Stewart rolled out of the garage.After the first set of laps,Stewart was in 8th.Bizarrely world champion Schumacher did come out until 40 minutes into the session.Stewart went out half way through the session but could not better his time.With 15 minutes to go,he came out for his last set of laps.He produced a lap 0.1 seconds faster than M.Schumacher.Despite Schumi coming out in the last moments of the session,he could not knock him off the top.
It was a disappointing session for Ferrari,beaten to pole and Barrichello only managing P7.
Mclaren also will not be pleased with how the session went,Coulthard continuing his slow start to the season,qualifying 6th,with Hakkinen just ahead in 5th.
In contrast,Williams now look like real title contenders,both drivers qualifying ahead of one Ferrari and both Mclaren's in 3rd and 4th,with rookie Montoya leading the charge.
Benetton continue their awful start to the season.Their car looks unbalanced and could only get them to 16th and 17th.
Jordan still cant get near the top 3 and were out qualified by one of their Honda rivals BAR.Frentzen qualified 9th and Trulli 10th.For BAR Villeneuve 8th and Panis 15th.
Arrows have also taken a step back.Verstappen 18th and Bernoldi 19th.
Sauber's young drivers did their best for the team in qualifying,with Fin Raikkonen qualifying ahead of Heidfeld in 12th.Heidfeld 13th.
Irvine continued his day languishing just outside the top 10 in 11th.And of course,we all know about Stewart,taking his and Jaguar's first ever pole position.
Alesi carries on doing a great job for Prost,qualifying in 14th place.Meanwhile Burti couldn't get near his team mate and qualified well down in 20th place.
And Minardi's new car sadly could not get them off the back row of the grid,Alonso half a second behind the rest of the field and Marques 0.3 behind his team-mate.
M.Stewart:Wow,I cannot believe what happened this afternoon.It is a lot hotter than it has been,and the hot conditions does suit our car.But to go .1 seconds faster than the rest of field,I can't explain that.I just did my best,and it was good enough.For the race,I think if I can stay out of trouble in the first few laps,and the car can finish the race,which we are all worried about,especially as its the first race of the season,i think I will have a great chance to score some points.
Sunday morning,and as everyone woke up,they would see that heavy rain had fallen over Melbourne during the night.As the fans,drivers and personel flocked into the track,the sky was still over cast and did not look like improving.As the teams started to get the cars ready,the sun came out,and as the grid built up with photographers,team members and VIP's,the track was now bone dry.The tension mounted as the track cleared,and the formation lap was only moments away.The final red light went out,and the cars slowly peeled off the grid for the formation lap.Everyone gets away,the first part of a grueling race done.The mechanics rush back to the pits,hoping that their cars will leave the proper gird,to get their season underway.The cars come back round,all 22 take their grid positions as the lights sequel starts........7 seconds later.....F1 2001 IS GO!
Mark makes no impression off the line,but does not lose any positions.Meanwhile there is chaos behind.R.Schumacher,R.Barrichello and E.Bernoldi's cars stay routed to the grid,causing mayhem as the rest of the field try to avoid the cars.Not so lucky is Kimi Raikkonen,who hits Barrichello and retires,with Button and Alesi needing emergency treatment.Two rookies out in the first few seconds of the race.
On the run down to turn 3,Stewart is passed by one Mclaren.A few corners later his Jaguar doesn't slow down enough,and he goes off,losing 2 more places.
Lap 4 and Stewart manages to save his car from a slide,and loses a place to his team-mate.
Lap 8 and Mark doesn't suit a heavy car,he spins at turn 14,losing valuable time to the top 6.
Their was a crash between Frentzen,Fisichella and Panis,but nothing really happened until lap 28,when Mark pitted for his only stop.He managed to make up alot of ground to rejoin in front of Irvine,who pitted 8 laps before.
Lap 30 and Villeneuve pits from 5th,with Mark and Irvine passing him.Two laps later Stewart does a 360? spin and drops one place to his team-mate.
Lap 40 and Stewart passes his team-mate in a fight that lasted several corners.He was now right behind Montoya.Irvine pits for his 2nd stop,now out of contention for points.
Lap 45,Stewart passes fellow rookie Montoya,but a few corners later,in an epic battle,Montoya passes Stewart on the grass,cutting through a corner.The pass is currently under investigation.
For the next 14 laps,Stewart stays around a second behind Montoya but could not get close enough to pass him for 4th,but 2 points on your debut is certainly a superb effort.
Out front all day was M.Schumacher,taking the win by over half a minute.
Mclaren had a great race,there cars made it to the finish,unlike last year,and scored a double podium,with Coulthard 2nd and Hakkinen,despite colliding with Marques and spinning in the final few laps,3rd.
Montoya came home to salvage something for Williams,but he never really had the pace to challenge the Mclarens.
The final point went to Villeneuve in his BAR,well ahead of their rivals Jordan,with Trulli 8th and Frentzen retiring.
Jaguar may have had a double points finish had Irvine not been on a 2 stop strategy,with all the other front runners on a 1.
Sauber's young drivers didn't do anything special,Raikkonen slamming into Barrichello's stalled Ferrari,and Heidfeld finishing a lap down in 9th.
M.Stewart:I enjoyed the race,especially the final part,battling with Montoya,but I don't quite understand his pass he did on me,I hope it is getting reviewed.I am however,disappointed with the number of mistakes I made during the race,which probably didn't impress anyone,and I should have been 4th without all those spins.But I'm still satisfied with the result,2 points in the first race,already half the points we got last year.I'm really looking foward to next weekend.
Race Clasification
1.M.Schumacher 58 laps 2.D.Coulthard +35.365
3.M.Hakkinen +45.919 4.J.P.Montoya +1:00.864 5.M.Stewart +1:01.703 6.J.Villeneuve +1:05.298 7.E.Irvine +1:27.096 8.J.Trulli +1 lap 9.N.Heidfeld +1lap 10.J.Alesi +1 lap 11.O.Panis DNF 12.J.Verstappen +2 laps 13.J.Button +2 laps 14.F.Alonso +3 laps 15.L.Burti +3 laps 16.T.Marques +3 laps 17.G.Fisichella DNF 18.H-H.Frentzen DNF 19.R.Schumacher Electronics 20.R.Barrichello Electronics 21.K.Raikkonen Accident 22.E.Bernoldi Electronics
So the end of the first weekend of the season.We know that Ferrari are the team to beat,Mclaren have reliability and Williams are now back as a championship battling team.Jaguar have made a huge step forward,Jordan and BAR still fighting for the lower points,and we have a number of teams like Benetton and Arrows that have made steps backwards from last year and Minardi are still to get off the back row.Reliability was good and two of the 5 rookies scored points.Next weekend its to the sweltering heat of Malaysia,where the drivers really earn their salary racing in 40c conditions.And there is also a threat of a thunderstorm.We hope you can join us next weekend.
Until then!
Juan Pablo Montoya,in his first Formula One race,has been given a 25 second penalty for illegally passing fellow debutant Mark Stewart,in yesterday's Australian Grand Prix.
The incident happened on lap 45.Stewart passed Montoya at turns 9 and 10,but a few corners later,Montoya got a good run,Stewart moved to the inside,but instead of backing off or going to the outside,Montoya stayed committed and went straight across the grass,passing the Englishman and did not let him through.
Williams and Montoya denied the acusations,saying that Stewart had pushed him to far,and Montoya had nowhere to go.But with the video evidence that was shown,it was clearly illegal.
The 25 seconds added onto Montoya's total time has pushed him down to 6th,and just 1 championship point,with Stewart going to 4th and 3 points,and Villeneuve to 5th and 2 points.
Well to be very honest, he really did not have any option. He did break the rules though and should have backed off a bit though, but hey this is F1 2001 and its EA's AI.
Friday in Malaysia started with the usual sweltering 30?C heat.All the drivers,team members and cars will be severely tested this weekend.The teams use a variety of methods to keep the engines and drivers cool.
The mid-morning first session was opened by Kimi Raikkonen,with the temperature already at 32?C.
Minardi are still doing their best to get off the back,and it wasn't helped by Alonso having 2 crashes today,at turn one and turn four.Alonso 21st in both sessions and Marques last in both sessions.
Prost are still pretty much where they left off from Melbourne.Alesi was 14th and 12th,having collided with Bernoldi and losing his front wing in the first session,and Burti 20th in both sessions,having spun in session one.
Jaguar's number one driver Irvine had a quiet day,going to a respectable 9th in both sessions.Stewart had another eventful day,a spin in the first session he was running 11th for the most part,until right at the end popped up to 2nd.In the second session he was 8th,completing a total of 43 laps in the day.
Sauber's youngsters are still making a slow start,Heidfeld having a difficult day crashing out in the second session.He was 13 in both sessions and Raikkonen was 11th in bot sessions.
Arrows are still struggling with a totally in-balanced car,with Verstappen saying he is extremely disappointed with the car.He was 18th and 17th,Bernoldi 19th in both sessions.
Jordan didn't have a good day today,Frentzen was well off the pace,placing 10th in both sessions,and Trulli crashed heavily at turn one with what appeared to be brake failure in the first session,he was taken to hospital after the crash was back to do 5 laps at the end of the second session,12th in the first session and 18th in the second.
BAR's Villeneuve continued to do well in his car,placing best of the rest in 8th and 7th.Meanwhile Panis' return to F1 is starting slowly,struggling in 16th in both sessions.
However both cars at Benetton were struggling,another awful day for them,Fisichella 15th and 14th,and Button 17th and 15th.
Williams and Mclaren continued to battle amongst themselves,R.Schumacher was 3rd in both sessions,whilst Montoya was 6th and 5th.Hakkinen continued to remain faster than team-mate Coulthard,placing 4th and 2nd,with Coulthard 5th and 4th.
M.Schumacher was untouchable today,once at the top of the time sheets he was never knocked off.Meanwhile Barrichello seems to be the slowest of the rest of the top 6 drivers,placing 7th and 6th.
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