Shell Race Report, Silverstone

8th July 2002

Wet and dry thriller brings Ferrari a one-two victory at Silverstone

Michael Schumacher led his team mate Rubens Barrichello home for a one-two finish today in one of the most exciting races of the season. Throughout the 60 laps of Silverstone, teams and drivers had to contend with all manner of conditions as rain fell intermittently for nearly one and a half hours.

For Shell, Ferrari's fuel and oil supplier, the race was a ringing testimony to the good work that has been done with Ferrari over the last seven years. Speaking after the race, David Barnes, Shell's Motorsport Business Manager said "today's race was a real test for the Shell oils in the car. When the race is so changeable as it was today, the cars are put through totally different conditions. With the race being dry, wet, damp and windy, the stresses in the car are constantly changing and our oils did a great job of protecting the machinery. Another aspect of the race with is really pleasing to see is how well the cars coped with the changing temperatures. In the wet, the cars are not pushed so hard and as such, the temperatures tend to drop. Regardless of how hard Rubens and Michael needed to push their cars today, the oil kept the cars safe."

"Of course, this is something integral to the development of our road car oils," continued David. "We draw on races such as today back at out base in the Thornton to learn now to develop the oils which can protect road cars in all temperatures and conditions."

The race began in dry conditions, but even on the grid, eyes were on the ever-darkening sky. Smatterings of rain had kept the teams' attention throughout the day, but the first drama came before the lights had even gone out. As the cars pulled away for their formation lap, Rubens Barrichello's F2002 failed to get away as the rest of the field filed past him. His engineers managed to restart him, and he took his place at the back of the grid. He had moved from second place to twenty first in the space of two minutes. This setback however would prove to be the catalyst for one of the best drives of his life.

Juan Pablo Montoya led the grid away and through Copse corner, followed by Michael Schumacher, now promoted to second place, following Rubens' demotion. However, at the back of the grid, Ferrari's Brazilian driver was demolishing the opposition. In the first lap he passed seven cars and was up to tenth position by lap three.

At the head of the field, Michael was challenging Juan Pablo Montoya as the pair lapped the track. All was to change however when the heavens began to open. Most of the 20 remaining cars sensed the incoming rain and pitted immediately as the pit lane sprung into life. Michael and Rubens, both took sets of Bridgestone intermediate tyres and a top up of Shell fuel. Other drivers were more cautious however, taking full wet tyres in an effort to displace the ever increasing amounts of water. The right choice soon became clear, cars with the heavily grooved wet tyres began to suffer as the rubber underneath them began to overheat. One victim of this was McLaren's David Coulthard who was forced to pit again on lap twelve for intermediate tyres. As he stopped again, he could see his chances of winning his home Grand Prix washing away.

Michael Schumacher however had found his groove, and was pressuring Juan Pablo Montoya for the lead. When the Columbian ran wide on the entry to the Abby Curve, Michael pounced and entered the complex leading the race to the delight of the thousands of watching fans. Another driver on the move was McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen who was now sitting third, following an audacious move up the inside of Ralf Schumacher at Bridge on lap eighteen.

Rubens Barrichello was also making the most of his tyres and on lap nineteen passed Juan Pablo Montoya at Copse Corner to take second position. His recovery from last place to second in 19 laps was nothing short of incredible.

As time wore on, some runners gambled in an attempt to find more speed and pitted for slick tyres on a drying track. It would be a big mistake as those exiting the pit lane on slick rubber were greeted with more rain as they reached the back of the circuit. Again, David Coulthard suffered.

At half distance the Ferrari team were leading. Rubens had had a spin at Abby, but recovered gracefully and continued in second place. Both Ferraris pitted as scheduled on lap 32 and left the pit lane on fresh intermediate tyres as the drizzle was still drifting across the track. Ten laps later, the Ferrari cars would pit again for slicks as the sun was finally winning the battle with the rain clouds. Montoya re-established himself in second spot when Kimi Raikkonen's engine let go on lap 46, but was soon under pressure from Rubens Barrichello who had dropped to third with all the pit stops. Rubens, having driven from the back of the grid was not about the let a second place go lightly and running over the start-finish line pulled alongside Montoya and out-braked the Williams to take second place. With fourteen laps to both Ferraris had first and second place, positions they would hold until the end.

Michael Schumacher said, "This is a really special victory for me in so far as I haven't won much here in the past… I find myself in an ideal situation in the Championship. We weren't expecting rain. The car behaved very well in the track conditions that were changing rapidly… The key point was deciding which type of tyre to use. I had some doubts, but I have to thank Ross who made the right choice for me." In these conditions, Shell's fuel was flexible enough to compliment the Ferrari team's strategy, in fact speaking on Friday night, Michael confirmed the importance of the fuel Shell supplies Ferrari. "I have said it before," he said, "but think how far we would go without fuel - nowhere! Ferrari and Shell are now sharing a partnership like no other and it is clear that I can see the results when I drive the car."

"This is a fantastic result for the team and the best I could have hoped for," said Rubens after the race. "Once again, I don't know what the problem was at the start of the formation lap. When I was at the back of the grid, I tried to remain calm, as I knew I had a car to overtake people in front of me and I was just hoping to finish in the points."

Silverstone gave Formula One and its fans a race it will remember for years. More specifically, Ferrari leaves Silverstone 57 points clear of Williams and Rubens Barrichello has elevated himself to second place in the Drivers' Championship, 54 points behind the leader, Michael Schumacher who won his seventh race of the year.