Ferrari scored its second Formula One one-two finish within a week today as Michael Schumacher won the USA Grand Prix. He was followed over the line only 3 seconds later by team mate Rubens Barrichello. Only eight runners finished the race, which was marred by a heavy accident to Ralf Schumacher in the early stages, although he was understood to be recovering well by the end of the race.
‘Such is the severity of this track, we use engine mapping from Indianapolis as a race simulation when testing the protection characteristics of a new Shell oil. To see it used here for real and to come away with the maximum points is very satisfying for the whole team,’ said Mike Copson of Shell Global Solutions. ‘It has been a hard couple of weeks away from home at these fly aways, but we couldn’t have wished for a better result. Our congratulations go to Minardi on winning their first point of 2004 and we are also all pleased to hear the encouraging reports coming back about Ralf Schumacher’s condition and wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him in France in two weeks time.’
The grid formed on the famous asphalt under the eyes of an ever-curious American public but just as the grid was ready to pull away for its formation lap, Juan Pablo Montoya’s Williams failed to start. The Columbian leapt out of his race car and sprinted for his spare - a move that would incur greater significance as the race wore on.
When the lights did go out, the start was as fast and furious as ever but not for long. A clash at the exit of Turn One between Klien, Massa, Da Matta and Bruni brought the safety car out on track. It gave the field a moment to compose itself, particularly for Fernando Alonso who had leapt from ninth on the grid to third by Turn Three. Shell-powered drivers Barrichello and Schumacher had executed a perfect start. As Barrichello brought the field up to speed, Schumacher found even more speed in the Ferrari than his team mate and pulled alongside Barrichello to take the lead of the race into lap six.
As racing got underway again, quick-starting Alonso suffered a scary moment into the first corner as his right rear tyre deflated at around 300kph. The Renault slowed safely, damaging nothing other than some polystyrene marker boards. Unfortunately, more accidents were to follow. A few laps later, Ralf Schumacher had an accident, pitching him full speed, backwards into the concrete wall.
As the Williams came to a rest in the middle of the track, the safety car was deployed once again as was the medical car. Medics attended to the stricken German as most of the field took the opportunity to pit for fresh tyres and fuel. Ferrari chose to bring both cars in together, queuing Barrichello behind Schumacher briefly and getting both back out in a quick time.
The only cars not to pit, were the B.A.Rs, Montoya and Raikkonen as the rest of the remaining drivers pitted.
The paddock was pleased to hear the good news soon coming back from the medical centre that Ralf Schumacher was recovering well with ‘only’ mild concussion and bruising, remarkable given the strength of the impact.
Given occasional stops to cure the odd technical glitch, all runners in Indianapolis ended up with two-stop strategies but from that moment, the race that unfolded was one of attrition as the long Indianapolis straight took its toll on a number of cars.
First, Da Matta retired, followed by Button and Heidfeld. Then came the news that Montoya had been disqualified. His car had been under investigation for some time, following his last-minute switch to the spare car on the grid, but news of his disqualification came only one lap after his scheduled stop for fuel and tyres. 2.4 miles after he had pitted, Montoya was back in pit lane, this time permanently, for William’s third disqualification within the week.
Further retirements were to come with Webber and Fisichella both succumbing to problems. This left the almost unprecedented situation of having only eight runners left in the race, with every runner set to score a point. Having challenged his team mate hard after his second stop, Rubens Barrichello finished second behind the other Ferrari. Sato finished third to claim his first ever podium finish, the first Japanese driver to finish on the podium for 14 years in fact. Trulli finished a hard-earned fourth having started from the back of the grid, with Panis scoring points for Toyota in fifth. McLaren continued their mini-revival with both cars finishing, albeit a lap down and Baumgartner scored his first ever Formula One World Championship point - the first ever scored by a Hungarian.Â
Indianapolis did little to dispel its reputation as a theatre of dreams today and once again the Ferrari team showed its class. There is however a long way to go, and as the Ferrari team pack the garage away this evening for the long journey back to Italy and then to France in two weeks time they know that, despite two wins in seven days there is a long way to go in this championship.
