Saturday 16 September 2000
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| 11:00-12:00 |
| Nigel Mansell F1 Special |
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Coverage of the Coys International Festival at Silverstone, celebrating 50 years of the Formula One World Championship. Those taking part include Nigel Mansell, Jackie Stewart, John Surtees, Sir Jack Brabham and Sir Stirling Moss.
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F1:
Schumacher and Ferrari's time has finally come
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Michael
Schumacher
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It's that
time of the year again when you know that every other Sunday isn't
going to be quite the same for the next few months. Now some things
never change, and others don't change very often. McLaren and Ferrari
will still be contesting honours at the very front of the grid - there's
little doubt about that, and aside from the inevitable Hakkinen /
Schumacher rivalry, it's a very, very important season for their respective
number twos.
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Hakkinen
& Coulthard
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David
Coulthard knows this is probably his last chance to gain the upper
hand in likely to be as competitive a car as he will ever drive
- so in effect, a productive start to the season is vital if he
wants a serious stab at the world title. There are those who believe
Coulthard is quick and smooth enough, as long as he has more self-confidence
and conviction about himself. But now the Scot is hell-bent on reinventing
himself, you could bet your bottom dollar he'd prefer to collide
with Hakkinen - instead of backing down and handing him victory
on a plate - like he did to his detriment in Australia in '98.
Rubens
Barrichello is undoubtedly almost the perfect partner for Michael
Schumacher. Perfect because he's extremely quick and talented, but
not a winner as yet - so Schumacher's unwritten seniority won't
be questioned - and because the Brazilian isn't as confrontational
and outspoken as Eddie Irvine was. Barrichello outperformed Irvine
when the pair were at Jordan for several seasons in their F1 infancy,
and the Brazilian will finally become the missing cog in the Ferrari
gearbox of success.
For
Barrichello's own sake, he's insisted that he's not going to play
second-fiddle to anyone - even Schumacher - although whether that's
still the case in October when team orders may dictate it, remain
to be seen. It's the perfect showcase for Rubinho to prove just
how good he is - everyone knows Schumacher would blow the field
away if everything else was equal, and performing on a par with
the great one would stand him in excellent personal stead.
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Heinz-Harald
Frentzen
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It's
a year of consolidation for Jordan, who need to cement their standing
as best of the rest before seriously eyeing up McLaren and Ferrari
on the horizon. Having the extremely capable Jarno Trulli to work
alongside the rejuvenated Heinz-Harald Frentzen should certainly
put them in a stronger position than last year. Sorry Damon, but
you should have hung up your detachable steering wheel the moment
your heart wasn't in it.
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Damon
Hill
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The
new Jaguar team has all the back-up from Ford that they could ever
need, and as long as Eddie Irvine doesn't start trying to psyche
out team-mate Johnny Herbert - reported to be on a quarter of the
Irishman's salary - should find the transition from Stewart to Jaguar
as relatively seamless. They'll hope so, having ended 1999 on such
a high with Herbert's wonderful victory at the Nurburgring.
The
1999 whipping-boys at British American Racing have got an easy job
on improving from last year - last year's reliability record will
have broken a few records for all the wrong reasons. If the spanking
new Honda engine develops well, BAR will be much closer to where
they said they'd be straight away. Remember it was only just over
2 years ago when Jacques Villeneuve was crowned World Champion in
the Williams.
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Jenson
Button
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Williams
and Benetton are two teams with nearly as much to prove - having
fallen from the top of the grid into midtable underperformance in
recent seasons. Of the two, Williams are more of an unknown quantity
- as their new BMW engine - and rookie Jenson Button - are very,
very unproven in a racing situation. After last season's performances,
Ralf Schumacher is well on the way to becoming the second best driver
in Formula One, and if anyone can get the new powerplant near the
front of the field - he can.
Benetton
also need to improve on 1999 - Fisichella and Wurz are potential
racewinners given the right machinery - which they certainly didn't
have last season. Prost, with a promising driver line-up of Alesi
and Nick Heidfeld, haven't enjoyed a good winter testing programme.
and those in the know reckon they've a lot of work to do.
Of the
remainder, Sauber, Arrows and Minardi have each retained one of their
quietly efficient pilots - with Diniz, de la Rosa and Gene respectively
staying put. Mika Salo joins Sauber with significantly more credibility
than when he signed up for Ferrari last July, but the overall package
is much the same, and the Swiss-based team should still be round and
about the eighth most
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Pedro
Diniz
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competitive
team in F1.
Lots
of money from mobile telecommunciations people Orange and some excellent
preseason testing performances have hinted that Arrows might be
emerging from the doldrums, whilst the underfunded but gloriously
enthusiastic Minardi team will continue to make friends on their
breadline existence at the back of the grid. Spanish sponsor Telefonica
- their wildly yellow colour scheme and unknown Argentine Gaston
Mazzacane are new - but with a two-year-old engine right behind
him, progress will be slow and expectations suitably realistic.
by
Simon Mills
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