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Formula One: Schumacher leads Ferrari 1-2; Problems cripple McLaren

13 March 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel

MELBOURNE, Australia--Michael Schumacher and his new Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello finished first and second, respectively, in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix held on Melbournes Albert Park circuit.

Schumacher starts the season with a perfect 10 -- maximum points. His chief rivals for the title came away with nothing as both West McLaren-Mercedes drivers retired before the race was 20 laps old. Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard both stopped with identical problems with their engines pneumatic valve systems.

This was Schumachers 36th career F1 victory but his first Australian Grand Prix victory in 10 years of trying. Afterward he said he had been taking it easy in the opening stages of the race in order to save the car.

"I was already driving pretty easy from the beginning," he said. "I was saving my tires, saving my fuel, ready for the final moment when the pit stops came and I had to attack. That was my strategy, and it worked fine. Unfortunately the two (McLaren) guys in front of me broke down. I would have preferred to race them to the end, to prove how really good we are. But I think there will be plenty of opportunities for us to do this again all through this year."

Pole sitter Hakkinen led from the start until coasting to a halt on Lap 19. By that time, his McLaren-Mercedes teammate Coulthard had already pulled off the track. Schumacher took over the lead and held it until his mid-race pit stop on Lap 30. Heinz-Harald Frentzen then led in his Benson & Hedges Jordan-Mugen-Honda until he made his stop on Lap 36.

Barrichello got squeezed out by Frentzen at the start and then was stuck behind him in for the first half of the race until the Ferrari team decided to switch Barrichello to a two-stop strategy. Barrichello, who led one lap before his second stop, came home in second place to match his best F1 result.

Ralf Schumacher gave BMW a podium finish in its return to F1 after he drove his Williams-BMW to third place and earned BMWs first points since the engine company withdrew from F1 at the end of 1987.

After scoring no points in 1999, Jacques Villeneuve drove a gritty race to finish fourth in his Lucky Strike British American Racing-Honda. His teammate Ricardo Zonta also ended up in the points by placing sixth. Villeneuve held off a string of cars in the closing stages of the race and beat Giancarlo Fisichella by just 0.718 of a second. A mere 2.4 seconds covered fourth through seventh places.

Winner Schumacher averaged 121.946 mph (196.254 km/h) to complete the 58-lap 191.117-mile (307.574-km) race in one hour, 34 minutes and 1.987 seconds. This marked the first time Ferrari had finished one-two in the Australian Grand Prix since Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto crossed the line in that order in 1987

QUOTEBOOK:

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (Ferrari, winner): "Yesterday I remember seeing Mika (Hakkinen after qualifying) and thinking it was good for him to celebrating pole position because today I would be celebrating a victory. I was quite sure we could do it, and I am delighted to be able to prove how strong we are. Traditionally Ferrari has not been strong at the beginning of the season -- but now we are. Maybe now it will be for other people to think about fighting us, and not the other way."

RUBENS BARRICHELLO (Ferrari, second): "As Michael said, this car is unbelievably good. Unfortunately there are not many places to overtake here in Melbourne unless the car in front is really, really slow. I was stuck behind Heinz-Harald (Frentzen). With the other guys going away, I was working out fresh tactics with Ross (Brawn). He has been described as the maestro, and now I can say he really is the best. He changed my strategy (from one pit stop to two), and although I dont know what happened to Frentzen, I think we would have got him anyway. Ross and the whole team did a great job."

RALF SCHUMACHER (Williams-BMW, third): "Its really amazing! Just like last year, we came here again with no full race distance tests behind us. But the team has done a great job. This is the best car that I have ever had to drive, and BMW did a great job on the engine. It did the job, it is nice to drive, it was reliable, and we finished third. I thought that we would be in the points if we finished the race, but I never imagined we would be third. This was a great day for us."

JACQUES VILLENEUVE (British American Racing-Honda, fourth): "It feels great. I knew we could score points today, and after the struggle of last year, it is good to finally achieve this. To do it in our first race with Honda is really good. I had hoped to get onto the podium, but Ralf (Schumacher) passed me in the pit stops, although I really dont think the Williams would last the distance. This is a great start to the season and gives us something to build on."

GIANCARLO FISICHELLA (Mild Seven Benetton Playlife, fifth): "I had a bad start as there was a problem with the clutch, and I lost a couple of places. Then someone either touched me or something in the rear of my car broke because it really became loose, and I had massive oversteer. I couldnt drive the car like I did in warm-up. But once I had learned to control it, I was able to be fairly competitive but just couldnt risk going off line."

NORBERT HAUG (Director of Mercedes-Benz motorsport): "The same problem on the engines pneumatic valve system, which caused failures on Saturday, stopped us in the race. We have to fix that rapidly in order to not only be quick but to finish races."

MIKA HAKKINEN (West McLaren-Mercedes, defending World Champion, out Lap 19): "Im disappointed to leave the first race of the season without any points, particularly since I didnt score any points here last year either. I was very happy with the car until I was forced to retire."

Text provided by IMS

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