Sammarinese
I realised that I hadn't written the promised review of the Sammarinese Grand Prix. This may well be due to the fact that apart from the first few laps, when Button held out the tantalising prospect of a race being led from start to finish by someone named other than Schumacher, it was all rather dull. So, here's the quick version of the Good/Bad/Average ratings and if you want a full review, then try F1 Rejects, who know much more than me. Today's gratuitous Rocky Horror Formula 1 Show song: 'Let's do the qualifying Timewarp again' by Baum'n'Gartner.
Good Race: Ferrari, BAR and Renault
Average Race: Williams, Sauber, Jaguar
Bad Race: Jordan, Minardi, Toyota, McLaren
Interesting rumour of the week: Jacques Villeneuve to return for Williams in 2005. Interesting, but not likely. With Ralf Schumacher looking like he'd rather spend his time counting Toyota's money rather than being competitive, it does seem that Williams will be looking for two drivers next season (barring Juan Pablo Montoya discovering a 'if the car stays this rubbish, the deal's off' clause in his McLaren contract) but my guess is that Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli will be their drivers next year. Webber because he's the best of the next generation drivers who's available (I doubt Alonso, Raikonnen or Button will move) and Trulli because I suspect he's starting to get a bit frustrated at finishing every race behind Alonso, no matter what he does.
Williams have also in the past shown a penchant for promoting test drivers (Damon Hill, David Coulthard) so Marc Gene could be in with a chance, especially as he didn't embarrass himself in his one drive for the team last year. Recruiting an Indycar driver, as they did with Montoya and Alex Zanardi, may be an option as well - as the most frugal of the top teams, both of those options seem to me to be more likely than Villeneuve, though he is a possibility, especially if Bernie Ecclestone thinks that having another former champion in the field is a good idea.
Non-story of the week was the Button to Ferrari 'revelation'. Yes, apparently when Michael Schumacher retires, Ferrari want to replace him with a potential champion. That's not to say that Button isn't one of the drivers Brawn and Todt have their eyes on, but I suspect he's just one of five they're keeping tabs on along with Raikonnen, Alonso, Webber and Montoya. Button is actually in a good position amonst those five (Montoya may be too mercurial for Ferrari, Raikonnen has to prove he can come back from a poor season, Webber has to prove he can race as well as he qualifies and Alonso - while probably the quickest of the five - may find his ties to Flavio Briatore are a bit of a red flag to the red team) but for now he seems happy at BAR, and given the usual cyclical nature of F1, by the time Schumacher retires Honda could have returned to the position of dominance they enjoyed in the late 80s and early 90s.
Good Race: Ferrari, BAR and Renault
Average Race: Williams, Sauber, Jaguar
Bad Race: Jordan, Minardi, Toyota, McLaren
Interesting rumour of the week: Jacques Villeneuve to return for Williams in 2005. Interesting, but not likely. With Ralf Schumacher looking like he'd rather spend his time counting Toyota's money rather than being competitive, it does seem that Williams will be looking for two drivers next season (barring Juan Pablo Montoya discovering a 'if the car stays this rubbish, the deal's off' clause in his McLaren contract) but my guess is that Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli will be their drivers next year. Webber because he's the best of the next generation drivers who's available (I doubt Alonso, Raikonnen or Button will move) and Trulli because I suspect he's starting to get a bit frustrated at finishing every race behind Alonso, no matter what he does.
Williams have also in the past shown a penchant for promoting test drivers (Damon Hill, David Coulthard) so Marc Gene could be in with a chance, especially as he didn't embarrass himself in his one drive for the team last year. Recruiting an Indycar driver, as they did with Montoya and Alex Zanardi, may be an option as well - as the most frugal of the top teams, both of those options seem to me to be more likely than Villeneuve, though he is a possibility, especially if Bernie Ecclestone thinks that having another former champion in the field is a good idea.
Non-story of the week was the Button to Ferrari 'revelation'. Yes, apparently when Michael Schumacher retires, Ferrari want to replace him with a potential champion. That's not to say that Button isn't one of the drivers Brawn and Todt have their eyes on, but I suspect he's just one of five they're keeping tabs on along with Raikonnen, Alonso, Webber and Montoya. Button is actually in a good position amonst those five (Montoya may be too mercurial for Ferrari, Raikonnen has to prove he can come back from a poor season, Webber has to prove he can race as well as he qualifies and Alonso - while probably the quickest of the five - may find his ties to Flavio Briatore are a bit of a red flag to the red team) but for now he seems happy at BAR, and given the usual cyclical nature of F1, by the time Schumacher retires Honda could have returned to the position of dominance they enjoyed in the late 80s and early 90s.
Nick got away with this at 5:41 AM
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