Saltire : Blogging by Steve MacLaughlin

Tuesday, October 14, 2003

You don't have to go home....

....You just can't stay here. For over two years Saltire has been sending out signals to the blogosphere. Now it's time to move on to bigger and better things. I hope that my new blog can be a lightening rod for the same success I have had here. Follow the continuing adventures of Steve MacLaughlin here:

www.strathlachlan.com

Posted by Steve MacLaughlin on 10/14/03; 7:27:53 AM from the Blog dept.

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Monday, October 13, 2003

2003 Japanese Grand Prix - Post Race Round Up

Post Race Commentary:
The 2003 Japanese Grand Prix brought a perfect end to a great season. There were so many questions left to be answered, and the weather was just one of them. Would Schumacher score a point and clinch his record breaking sixth Drivers' Championship? Could Kimi Raikkonen pull off the upset and win the race? Could Williams BMW grab back the Constructors' Championship from Ferrari? Would team orders somehow come into play? Who would take fifth place in the Constructors' Championship? How would Takuma Sato do before the home crowd in his first race with B.A.R.? Who might be driving their final race in Formula One? Will it rain?

In the end all of those questions were answered and more. The race was a battle from the start and Michael Schumacher's luck nearly ran out. Raikkonen drove a strong race and help through the weekend from his teammate David Coulthard certainly helped. But the young Finn fell one place short of the championship and Schumacher scored the one point he needed to clinch the title.

Williams BMW's hopes to take the Constructors' Championship fell apart when Juan Pablo Montoya retired from the race. Ralf Schumacher put on an amazing charge to overtake his brother, but the result was a damaged car limping back to the pits. B.A.R. showed their promise at Indianapolis and put together a great performance to take the all important fifth place in the Constructors' Championship.

Now there will be a brief break before the teams get back to work for the 2004 season. The winter testing ban will soon be over and the race for next year's titles will be renewed. In the meantime there will be more questions answered that affect the F1 Paddock. Will the new format for the F1 weekend be changed? Who will fill race seats at teams like Jaguar, Jordan, and Minardi? Will there be an agreement announced between SLEC, the GPWC, the banks, and the rest of the teams? Will Michael Schumacher be back to take a run at seven Drivers' Championships? And I am sure there are a few more surprises in store for us.

Finally, thank you for reading my coverage of Formula One over the past two years. I hope that my coverage has been informative, insightful, and entertaining. It has been a lot of fun and it has allowed me to explore a entirely new kind of journalism. I will be moving on to other things and other topics, but rest assured I will still be keeping tabs on the Formula One circus. Stay tuned...

News from the F1 Paddock:
The following are some of the top articles related to the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix that have been published online since the race:

"Schumacher takes historic sixth drivers title" - GrandPrix.com
"Schumacher makes history" - BBC
"Schu: I’m empty and exhausted" - ITV-F1
"Schumi Struggles To Reflect On ‘One Of My Toughest Races’" - Planet-F1
"Barrichello helps Schumacher to title number six" - F1-Live
"Schumi: Fangio was greater than me" - BBC
"Ralf Wanted Michael Punished For Lunge" - Planet-F1
"Kimi: We weren’t quick enough" - ITV-F1
"Fastest lap but disappointment for Williams." - Crash.net
"Montoya Takes Comfort From His 'Maturity'" - Planet-F1
"Sensational Sato delighted after sixth-place comeback" - F1-Live
"BAR boss praises drivers" - BBC
"Richards: 'BAR Inspired By Villeneuve's Departure'" - Planet-F1
"Taku shines at Suzuka return." - Crash.net
"Alonso rues lost chance" - ITV-F1
"Ecclestone pushes for Canada's return" - F1-Live

Posted by Steve MacLaughlin on 10/13/03; 7:38:48 AM from the Blog dept.

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Sunday, October 12, 2003

2003 Japanese Grand Prix - Sunday Race

Sunday FIA Press Conference:

Part 1

Sunday Race:
The final round of the 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship proved to have all of the drama and excitement of the entire season. The start of the race saw Williams BMW's Juan Pablo Montoya getting past Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello, who appeared to be struggling with problems. During the opening laps a hard charging Michael Schumacher ran his Ferrari into the back of B.A.R.'s Takuma Sato and was forced to pit to replace his front wing.

More fortune appeared to be going McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen's way when Montoya and Renault's Fernando Alonso both retired during the race. Barrichello bounced back from his troubles at the start to carve out a slight edge over both McLaren's. B.A.R.'s Jenson Button and Takuma Sato also stayed in the points to help out their bid for fifth place in the Constructors' Championship.

During the closing stages of the race Michael Schumacher once again had an incident at the final chicane, but this time it involved his brother Ralf driving for Williams BMW. Michael Schumacher was able to finish the race and eased up towards the end while running in eighth place. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen finished a strong race just one place short of what he needed to win the Drivers' Championship.

When the winner crossed the line it was Rubens Barrichello helping to secure Ferrari's fifth straight Constructors' Championship and insured that his teammate would win a record breaking sixth Drivers' Championship. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher's win, by just two points over McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen, eclipses Juan-Manuel Fangio's record of five wins that has stood since 1957.

As the sun sets in the land of the rising sun another Formula One season comes to an end. At the beginning of the day everyone knew it would be a history making race one way or another. In the end it was Michael Schumacher and Ferrari who put their stamp on another page in the Formula One record book. But this is a time for celebration for all the teams for a very long and hard fought season. Rest assured that it will not be long before the 2004 season is upon us.

The Japanese Grand Prix - Provisional Results
Suzuka, Japan;
43 laps; 191.126 miles/307.573km;
Weather: cold and dry.

POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT LAPS TIME/RETIRE
1. RUBENS BARRICHELLO Brazil Ferrari 53 1h25m11.743
2. KIMI RAIKKONEN Finland McLaren-Mercedes 53 11.085
3. DAVID COULTHARD Britain McLaren-Mercedes 53 11.614
4. JENSON BUTTON Britain BAR-Honda 53 33.106
5. JARNO TRULLI Italy Renault 53 34.269
6. TAKUMA SATO Japan BAR-Honda 53 51.692
7. CRISTIANO DA MATTA Brazil Toyota 53 56.794
8. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER Germany Ferrari 53 59.487
9. NICK HEIDFELD Germany Sauber-Petronas 53 1m00.159
10. OLIVIER PANIS France Toyota 53 1m01.844
11. MARK WEBBER Australia Jaguar-Cosworth 53 1m11.005
12. RALF SCHUMACHER Germany Williams-BMW 52 1 Lap
13. JUSTIN WILSON Britain Jaguar-Cosworth 52 1 Lap
14. RALPH FIRMAN Hungary Jordan-Ford 51 2 Laps
15. JOS VERSTAPPEN Netherlands Minardi-Cosworth 51 2 Laps
16. NICOLAS KIESA Denmark Minardi-Cosworth 50 3 Laps

R GIANCARLO FISICHELLA Italy Jordan-Ford 33
R FERNANDO ALONSO Spain Renault 18
R HEINZ-HARALD FRENTZEN Germany Sauber-Petronas 9 Engine
R JUAN PABLO MONTOYA Colombia Williams-BMW 9

FASTEST LAP: RALF SCHUMACHER Germany Williams-BMW 43 1:33.408

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS:
POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT POINTS
1. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER Germany Ferrari 93
2. KIMI RAIKKONEN Finland McLaren-Mercedes 91
3. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA Colombia Williams-BMW 82
4. RUBENS BARRICHELLO Brazil Ferrari 65
5. RALF SCHUMACHER Germany Williams-BMW 58
6. FERNANDO ALONSO Spain Renault 55
7. DAVID COULTHARD Britain McLaren-Mercedes 51
8. JARNO TRULLI Italy Renault 33
9. MARK WEBBER Australia Jaguar-Cosworth 17
JENSON BUTTON Britain BAR-Honda 17
11. HEINZ-HARALD FRENTZEN Germany Sauber-Petronas 13
12. GIANCARLO FISICHELLA Italy Jordan-Ford 12
13. CRISTIANO DA MATTA Brazil Toyota 10
14. OLIVIER PANIS France Toyota 6
JACQUES VILLENEUVE Canada BAR-Honda 6
NICK HEIDFELD Germany Sauber-Petronas 6
17. MARC GENE Spain Williams-BMW 4
18. TAKUMA SATO Japan BAR-Honda 3
19. JUSTIN WILSON Britain Jaguar-Cosworth 1
RALPH FIRMAN Britain Jordan-Ford 1

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS:
POS CONSTRUCTOR POINTS
1. FERRARI 158
2. WILLIAMS-BMW 144
3. MCLAREN-MERCEDES 142
4. RENAULT 88
5. BAR-HONDA 26
6. SAUBER-PETRONAS 19
7. JAGUAR-COSWORTH 18
8. TOYOTA 16
9. JORDAN-FORD 13

Posted by Steve MacLaughlin on 10/12/03; 1:27:26 AM from the Blog dept.

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Saturday, October 11, 2003

2003 Japanese Grand Prix - Saturday Practice / Qualifying

Saturday FIA Press Conference:

Part 1

Saturday Qualifying: Live Blogging
The final qualifying session of the 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship also proved to be one of the most dramatic of the season. Rain showers began to fall once again at Suzuka before the final five drivers could set their laps. That allowed Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello to take pole position next to Williams BMW's Juan Pablo Montoya and Toyota's Cristiano da Matta. A second-straight top three qualifying performance for Toyota brought cheers before their home crowd.

The chaos brought by the the rain means that McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen will start eighth and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher will start 14th in tomorrow's final race of the season. That is the worst qualifying performance during Michael Schumacher's tenure at the Scuderia. Williams BMW's Ralf Schumacher spun during his run coming into the final chicane and abandoned his hot lap. The last runner of the day, Renault's Jarno Trulli, chose not to take chances with an accident and both drivers will start from the back of the grid tomorrow.

While Raikkonen out qualified Schumacher his path to the Drivers' Championship will not be an easy one. The young Finn needs to win the race with the German veteran finishing out of the points to play the spoiler. Over in the Constructors' Championship the gap is three points between first and second, and Ferrari will be pushing hard to keep Williams BMW from getting the best of them. Depending on who you ask the weather for tomorrow's race will either be dry or mixed conditions.

Pos      Driver       Team                 T1     T2     Time
 1. (14) Barrichello  Ferrari          (B) 31.414 72.685 1:31.713 
 2. (13) Montoya      Williams BMW     (M) 31.764 73.315 1:32.412 + 0.699
 3.  (7) da Matta     Toyota           (M) 31.638 73.320 1:32.419 + 0.706
 4.  (8) Panis        Toyota           (M) 31.661 73.598 1:32.862 + 1.149
 5. (15) Alonso       Renault          (M) 31.841 73.738 1:33.044 + 1.331
 6. (12) Webber       Jaguar Cosworth  (M) 32.065 73.740 1:33.106 + 1.393
 7. (17) Coulthard    McLaren Mercedes (M) 32.143 74.055 1:33.137 + 1.424
 8. (16) Raikkonen    McLaren Mercedes (M) 32.338 74.304 1:33.272 + 1.559
 9.  (5) Button       BAR Honda        (B) 31.984 74.129 1:33.474 + 1.761
10.  (6) Wilson       Jaguar Cosworth  (M) 32.533 74.323 1:33.558 + 1.845
11. (11) Heidfeld     Sauber Petronas  (B) 32.181 74.274 1:33.632 + 1.919
12.  (9) Frentzen     Sauber Petronas  (B) 31.898 74.626 1:33.896 + 2.183
13. (10) Sato         BAR Honda        (B) 32.293 74.338 1:33.924 + 2.211
14. (18) M.Schumacher Ferrari          (B) 32.422 74.718 1:34.302 + 2.589
15.  (4) Firman       Jordan Ford      (B) 32.593 75.151 1:34.771 + 3.058
16.  (3) Fisichella   Jordan Ford      (B) 32.622 75.314 1:34.912 + 3.199
17.  (2) Verstappen   Minardi Cosworth (B) 32.800 75.316 1:34.975 + 3.262
18.  (1) Kiesa        Minardi Cosworth (B) 34.030 77.350 1:37.226 + 5.513
19. (19) R.Schumacher Williams BMW     (M) 34.075 78.981 No Time  
20. (20) Trulli       Renault          (M) -      -      No Time 
Top Speed: 309.2 km/h (Coulthard, McLaren-Mercedes)

Saturday Warm Up:
Williams BMW's Juan Pablo Montoya was quickest in the final warm up session followed by Toyota's Cristiano da Matta and Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello. There were brief rain showers at Suzuka before final qualifying began.

Pos  Driver        Team                   Time                    Laps
 1.  Montoya       Williams BMW      (M)  1:33.211  224.278 km/h   5  
 2.  da Matta      Toyota            (M)  1:33.481    +    0.270   5  
 3.  Barrichello   Ferrari           (B)  1:33.963    +    0.752   7  
 4.  Alonso        Renault           (M)  1:33.972    +    0.761   4  
 5.  Sato          BAR Honda         (B)  1:34.138    +    0.927   6  
 6.  Webber        Jaguar Cosworth   (M)  1:34.504    +    1.293   5  
 7.  R.Schumacher  Williams BMW      (M)  1:34.750    +    1.539   5  
 8.  Button        BAR Honda         (B)  1:34.757    +    1.546   6  
 9.  Coulthard     McLaren Mercedes  (M)  1:34.790    +    1.579   6  
10.  Fisichella    Jordan Ford       (B)  1:34.869    +    1.658   5  
11.  Heidfeld      Sauber Petronas   (B)  1:35.450    +    2.239   4  
12.  Wilson        Jaguar Cosworth   (M)  1:35.778    +    2.567   6  
13.  Verstappen    Minardi Cosworth  (B)  1:35.853    +    2.642   5  
14.  Firman        Jordan Ford       (B)  1:36.515    +    3.304   4  
15.  Kiesa         Minardi Cosworth  (B)  1:38.929    +    5.718   4  
16.  Frentzen      Sauber Petronas   (B)  1:47.062    + 0:13.851   5  
17.  Panis         Toyota            (M)  1:52.400    + 0:19.189   4  
18.  Trulli        Renault           (M)  1:53.200    + 0:19.989   3  
19.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari           (B)  1:54.300    + 0:21.089   6

Saturday Second Free Practice:
Williams BMW's Ralf Schumacher continued to shine followed by his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher. Towards the end of the session Fernando Alonso's Renault engine let go throwing oil all over the circuit. Both Montoya and Jaguar's Mark Webber nearly crashed into each other as they spun off the track. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen had to use teammate David Coulthard's car during the session, and that left the Scot spending the entire time in the pits. Raikkonen's car damaged car had not been repaired in time to be ready for the session.

Pos  Driver        Team                   Time                    Laps
 1.  R.Schumacher  Williams BMW      (M)  1:31.149  229.352 km/h  10  
 2.  Montoya       Williams BMW      (M)  1:31.422    +    0.273  15  
 3.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari           (B)  1:31.705    +    0.556  12  
 4.  Trulli        Renault           (M)  1:32.343    +    1.194  19  
 5.  Barrichello   Ferrari           (B)  1:32.796    +    1.647  11  
 6.  Raikkonen     McLaren Mercedes  (M)  1:32.930    +    1.781   7  
 7.  Panis         Toyota            (M)  1:33.082    +    1.933  16  
 8.  Alonso        Renault           (M)  1:33.107    +    1.958  15  
 9.  da Matta      Toyota            (M)  1:33.133    +    1.984  17  
10.  Button        BAR Honda         (B)  1:33.411    +    2.262  21  
11.  Sato          BAR Honda         (B)  1:33.662    +    2.513  10  
12.  Frentzen      Sauber Petronas   (B)  1:33.694    +    2.545  16  
13.  Webber        Jaguar Cosworth   (M)  1:33.807    +    2.658  15  
14.  Wilson        Jaguar Cosworth   (M)  1:33.952    +    2.803  18  
15.  Heidfeld      Sauber Petronas   (B)  1:34.558    +    3.409  19  
16.  Fisichella    Jordan Ford       (B)  1:35.476    +    4.327  15  
17.  Firman        Jordan Ford       (B)  1:35.620    +    4.471  15  
18.  Verstappen    Minardi Cosworth  (B)  1:37.379    +    6.230   6  
19.  Kiesa         Minardi Cosworth  (B)  1:37.884    +    6.735  18

Saturday First Free Practice:
Williams BMW's Ralf Schumacher posted the fastest lap of the session followed by the Ferrari's of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen suffered a shunt going into turn two and only manged to complete seven laps during the session.

Pos  Driver        Team                   Time                    Laps
 1.  R.Schumacher  Williams BMW      (M)  1:32.931  224.954 km/h  15  
 2.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari           (B)  1:32.989    +    0.058  14  
 3.  Barrichello   Ferrari           (B)  1:33.350    +    0.419  15  
 4.  Montoya       Williams BMW      (M)  1:33.405    +    0.474  13  
 5.  Heidfeld      Sauber Petronas   (B)  1:33.749    +    0.818  19  
 6.  da Matta      Toyota            (M)  1:33.963    +    1.032  19  
 7.  Wilson        Jaguar Cosworth   (M)  1:34.119    +    1.188  17  
 8.  Button        BAR Honda         (B)  1:34.171    +    1.240  18  
 9.  Coulthard     McLaren Mercedes  (M)  1:34.309    +    1.378  15  
10.  Trulli        Renault           (M)  1:34.349    +    1.418  13  
11.  Alonso        Renault           (M)  1:34.398    +    1.467  15  
12.  Raikkonen     McLaren Mercedes  (M)  1:34.523    +    1.592   7  
13.  Panis         Toyota            (M)  1:34.541    +    1.610  14  
14.  Sato          BAR Honda         (B)  1:34.554    +    1.623   8  
15.  Webber        Jaguar Cosworth   (M)  1:34.599    +    1.668  20  
16.  Frentzen      Sauber Petronas   (B)  1:34.718    +    1.787  13  
17.  Firman        Jordan Ford       (B)  1:36.368    +    3.437  13  
18.  Fisichella    Jordan Ford       (B)  1:36.705    +    3.774  10  
19.  Verstappen    Minardi Cosworth  (B)  1:36.928    +    3.997  13  
20.  Kiesa         Minardi Cosworth  (B)  1:38.075    +    5.144  14

Posted by Steve MacLaughlin on 10/11/03; 8:07:22 AM from the Blog dept.

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Friday, October 10, 2003

2003 Japanese Grand Prix - Friday Practice / Qualifying

Friday FIA Press Conference:

Part 1

Part 2

Friday Qualifying Results:
Renault's Jarno Trulli once again claimed provisional pole position followed by Williams BMW's Ralf Schumacher and his brother Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari. McLaren's David Coulthard appeared to have momentarily overcome his qualifying problems and beat out his teammate Kimi Raikkonen for the fourth fastest time of the session. B.A.R.'s new driver Takuma Sato, taking over for a disgruntled Jacques Villeneuve, also managed to beat out his teammate Jenson Button.

Pos      Driver       Team                 T1     T2     Time
 1.  (8) Trulli       Renault          (M) 30.790 71.371 1:30.281
 2.  (4) R.Schumacher Williams BMW     (M) 30.962 71.434 1:30.343 + 0.062
 3.  (1) M.Schumacher Ferrari          (B) 30.736 71.542 1:30.464 + 0.183
 4.  (7) Coulthard    McLaren Mercedes (M) 30.978 71.614 1:30.482 + 0.201
 5.  (2) Raikkonen    McLaren Mercedes (M) 31.119 71.815 1:30.558 + 0.277
 6.  (6) Alonso       Renault          (M) 30.818 71.474 1:30.624 + 0.343
 7.  (5) Barrichello  Ferrari          (B) 30.776 71.528 1:30.758 + 0.477
 8.  (3) Montoya      Williams BMW     (M) 31.277 72.125 1:31.201 + 0.920
 9.  (9) Webber       Jaguar Cosworth  (M) 31.346 72.285 1:31.305 + 1.024
10. (14) Heidfeld     Sauber Petronas  (B) 31.296 72.584 1:31.783 + 1.502
11. (20) Sato         BAR Honda        (B) 31.578 72.688 1:31.832 + 1.551
12. (10) Frentzen     Sauber Petronas  (B) 31.494 72.732 1:31.892 + 1.611
13. (15) Panis        Toyota           (M) 31.406 72.583 1:31.908 + 1.627
14. (13) da Matta     Toyota           (M) 32.025 73.292 1:32.256 + 1.975
15. (17) Wilson       Jaguar Cosworth  (M) 31.834 73.052 1:32.291 + 2.010
16. (12) Button       BAR Honda        (B) 31.657 73.096 1:32.374 + 2.093
17. (16) Firman       Jordan Ford      (B) 31.907 73.611 1:33.057 + 2.776
18. (11) Fisichella   Jordan Ford      (B) 32.007 73.719 1:33.313 + 3.032
19. (18) Verstappen   Minardi Cosworth (B) 32.711 75.041 1:34.836 + 4.555
20. (19) Kiesa        Minardi Cosworth (B) 33.396 76.124 1:36.181 + 5.900
Top Speed: 313.9 km/h (M.Schumacher, Ferrari)

Friday Free Practice Results:
Renault's Jarno Trulli was quickest followed by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher and McLaren's David Coulthard. Several of the drivers seemed confused by the minor circuit changes, in particular the final chicane.

Pos  Driver        Team                   Time                    Laps
 1.  Trulli        Renault           (M)  1:30.727  230.419 km/h  15  
 2.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari           (B)  1:31.009    +    0.282  18  
 3.  Coulthard     McLaren Mercedes  (M)  1:31.019    +    0.292  21  
 4.  Barrichello   Ferrari           (B)  1:31.217    +    0.490  19  
 5.  Alonso        Renault           (M)  1:31.276    +    0.549  19  
 6.  Raikkonen     McLaren Mercedes  (M)  1:31.303    +    0.576  21  
 7.  Montoya       Williams BMW      (M)  1:31.654    +    0.927   9  
 8.  Webber        Jaguar Cosworth   (M)  1:31.977    +    1.250  23  
 9.  Panis         Toyota            (M)  1:32.011    +    1.284  21  
10.  da Matta      Toyota            (M)  1:32.133    +    1.406  25  
11.  R.Schumacher  Williams BMW      (M)  1:32.208    +    1.481  18  
12.  Sato          BAR Honda         (B)  1:32.295    +    1.568  20  
13.  Frentzen      Sauber Petronas   (B)  1:32.422    +    1.695  18  
14.  Heidfeld      Sauber Petronas   (B)  1:32.694    +    1.967  17  
15.  Wilson        Jaguar Cosworth   (M)  1:32.735    +    2.008  21  
16.  Firman        Jordan Ford       (B)  1:33.306    +    2.579  18  
17.  Fisichella    Jordan Ford       (B)  1:33.956    +    3.229  17  
18.  Button        BAR Honda         (B)  1:34.445    +    3.718   9  
19.  Verstappen    Minardi Cosworth  (B)  1:35.180    +    4.453  13  
20.  Kiesa         Minardi Cosworth  (B)  1:35.900    +    5.173  14

Posted by Steve MacLaughlin on 10/10/03; 7:01:08 AM from the Blog dept.

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