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Articles by Darren Galpin
| The dichotomy that is Schumacher - Mon 29th May 2006 |
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The Monaco Grand Prix highlighted in sharp relief the dichotomy that is Michael Schumacher. On the one hand, he pulled himself from the back of the grid at Monaco into the top 6 at the finish, using strategic brilliance and dashes of daring along the way. On the other, he was only in that position due to the crass gamesmanship in qualifying.
For someone of Michael Schumacher’s ability, there is no need for gamesmanship of any kind, as he is good enough to overcome most things. Having set the pole position time, he went around for his final lap and “made a mistake” at Rascasse, the penultimate corner. He turned in a little late, went off line, and staying too close to the barrier to make the next corner properly, he went straight on, stopping before hitting the next barrier. He wasn’t blocking the track, but the waved yellows and the dangerous position meant that all of the following drivers had to back off, and there wouldn’t be any time for any of them to do another lap. Pole position was his, and the accident was highly advantageous. None of the rookie drivers managed to make the same mistake all weekend, and it is rare for anyone to actually come off at the point. For someone of Schumacher’s ability to make such a “mistake” was therefore highly suspect.
The problem for Schumacher is that this isn’t the first time that the spotlight has been shone on his racing ethics and left him found wanting. He is driving for Ferrari, and it tarnishes the marque’s image as well. Ferrari have traditionally won through having superior cars and/or superior drivers, the likes of Phil Hill and Gilles Villeneuve battling hard and pulling through, burnishing the image in the process. Although the Schumacher era has brought much success to the marque, it has done it at the cost of controversy, whether it be through rule interpretations, team orders or suspect driving. Therefore when Schumacher does something like this, he not only damages himself, he damages the history and mystique of Ferrari. Winning should be honourable.
The stewards took their time over it, but eight hours later they decided that Schumacher’s accident was in fact deliberate, and sent him to the back of the grid. It was a rare show of official displeasure, and rarely have they imposed such a penalty – that is usually done by the FIA retrospectively. So we had the rare sight of an all Ferrari back row, as Massa had stuffed his into the wall of Casino on the first lap of qualifying. It set the scene for Michael’s fightback.
Despite the nature of Monaco and the difficulty in passing, the race was cooking nicely after the first few laps, with Alonso, Räikkönen and Webber pulling away from the rest of the field, setting fastest lap after fastest lap. It was promising even more after the first set of pit-stops. Räikkönen pitted first, but took on some 10 seconds worth of fuel, and on rejoining went just as fast as before. Webber was next, and took on slightly more. Alonso pitted next, but took on only around 8 seconds worth of fuel – any more and he would have come out behind the two others. Alonso’s tyres were also less suited to his car, and he wasn’t lapping as fast as before – the three were lapping nose to tail, with Montoya catching them all. There was great anticipation for the next set of stops – Alonso would have to pit first, Räikkönen and Webber were faster, and Webber potentially had the most fuel of all. Could we be facing a Williams race victory?
The Cosworth engine gremlins said no – Webber’s engine appeared to let go approaching Ste Devote. He made it around the corner, and came to a halt at the end of the painted line marking the pit lane, flames issuing from the air intake. Webber hurled his steering wheel into his car as he got out, and the safety car was scrambled so that they could retrieve the car. Alonso and Räikkönen pitted together and emerged together, the McLaren’s fuel advantage negated. However, the slower pace behind the safety car caused the McLaren’s engine temperatures to rocket, and by the Loews hairpin his engine too went bang in a firey way. All opposition to the Alonso steamroller had been removed, as Montoya was six lapped cars behind in the queue. Come the restart Alonso disappeared off into the distance, with Montoya settling for a safe second. Third was briefly the subject of a fight for position until Trulli’s Toyota also went bang. With Klien’s gearbox being filled with neutrals, David Coulthard was now in third place, the highest placed finish yet for a Red Bull. The laps wound themselves down, and they finished in that order.
And so finished an eventful Monaco Grand Prix. Christian Horner, team principal for Red Bull, had promised to dive into the Red Bull Energy Center’s swimming pool if one of his cars finished on the podium, possibly naked. He’ll be praying the Red Bull gives him fins rather than wings.
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