Michael Schumacher won Sundas Austrian Grand Prix in dramatic style following an incident during his first pit stop in which flames licked the side of his car and the refuelling hose. The Ferrari team extinguished the flames and sent Michael on his way to victory. Behind him, Rubens Barrichello fought a head cold to finish third and move up to third place in the Championship.
The Ferrari team reacted brilliantly and professionally during Michaes (Schumacher) first pit stop today said Mike Copson of Shell Global SolutionsThe fact that Michael won the race only goes to show how professional the team really is
The drivers and teams actually had to go through the starting procedure three times this afternoon after problems with Christiano Da Matts Toyota saw the first two starts aborted. In fact, when the race did get underway, Jos Verstappes Minardi failed to make it to Turn One. His stricken car called the safety car out so it was not until Lap 4 (of a shortened 69 lap race) that the racing began in earnest.
Michael Schumacher led the grid away from the rolling start, ahead of Juan Montoya who had passed Raikkonen on the first lap. Rubens Barrichello was fourth, with Heidfeld and the quick-starting Pizzonia, sixth.
Toyots day got worse as Olivier Panis pulled off the track at Turn Two. Meanwhile, Michael Schumacher began to edge away from the pack, and by lap 12, the World Champion was 12.776 clear of Montoya in second.
But before Michael Schumacher could pull away any further, the crowd began putting raincoats on as the unpredictable Austrian weather unleashed a rain shower over Turn One. The greasy surface caused momentary havoc as drivers such as Trulli and Schumacher all ran wide. The Formula One drivers soon acclimatised to the tricky conditions though and were back into their rhythm soon enough.
By this stage, many drivers had made their first pit stops. Pizzonia and Heidfeld were amongst the first in, but by lap 20 most had stopped. Of the leaders, only Schumacher and Raikkonen stayed out.
On Lap 23, the leaders pitted and, as Michael Schumaches car was being refuelled, flames were seen licking up around the nozzle of the rig. The flames were extinguished immediately by the pit crew and Michael was sent back out onto the track to rejoin just behind Raikkonen.
To add to the drama, Montoys engine failed on lap 32 and Schumacher swept past the ailing Williams and overtook Raikkonen in the process to the delirium of the Austrian crowd. Schumacher, having just recovered from a fire in the pits was leading the Austrian Grand Prix.
Rubens Barrichells pit stop was also eventful and it lasted over 20 seconds losing him a position.
By lap 42, the German had to pit again. The Ferrari team, having replaced the nozzle of the hose executed the stop perfectly and sent him on his way in 12 seconds and out into third place.
By lap 45, Raikkonen led the race ahead of Barrichello and Schumacher. Behind them, Button, Villeneuve, Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Alonso rounded out the points positions. However, with the pit stop strategies falling into place, by the time Raikkonen and Barrichello had pitted for a second time, Schumacher led the race ahead of the Finn and the Brazilian.
With 12 laps to go, Barrichello was flying. Schumacher was clear in the lead, but the second Ferrari was closing on the Finn at the rate of over 0.6 seconds a lap. In fact, by lap 62, Barrichello was all over the back of the grey car, hounding Raikkonen into every corner.
Alas, Rubens, who was suffering from a cold all weekend could not find a way past and finished third. Raikkonen finished second and still leads the Championship by two points from race winner, Michael Schumacher. Ferrari scored 16 points here in Austria and has taken the lead of the World Constructor Championship by one point over McLaren.
