The Ice-Man Returns

Nuburgring, scene of 'McLaren's greatest triumph'

by F1 Rumours for ITV-F1 Viewfinder

A year ago, the Nurburgring was hailed by Ron Dennis as the scene of McLaren’s greatest triumph, as Mika Hakkinen drove a stunning race to beat Michael Schumacher and Ferrari at their own games.

The qualifying session saw Ferrari’s slight speed advantage place both cars on the front row, with McLarens of Hakkinen third and Coulthard fifth. Giancarlo Fisichella had got to grips with his Benetton for fourth place, and Ralf Schumacher looked strong in sixth for Jordan.

The race itself saw the front three get away in grid order, and Hakkinen kept the pressure on Irvine for a dozen laps, before passing as the Ulsterman’s tyres started to fade. Hakkinen closed Schumacher down, and took advantage of the pitstops – and the German’s fading tyres – to pass for the lead.

Immediately after, Hakkinen drove perfectly under pressure, keeping a charging Schumacher behind for another dozen laps, before tyre fade allowed him to build a cushion, which he kept through the second round of pitstops, then to the end of the race.

In retrospect, Hakkinen’s performance under pressure was excellent, and truly showed his “Ice-Man” moniker is well earned. Many people ask how Schumacher might have performed “if it wasn’t for the tyres,” but frankly, that question is academic, and can be applied to any racer – example “how would Ricardo Rosset have performed if only he was in a Ferrari?” Please do not write in with answers!

At the end of the day, the race is run with drivers who maximise the equipment available to them, and Hakkinen’s race was out of the top drawer… and Schumacher’s attitude afterwards showed how shocked the German was that Hakkinen had put on the show he did.

This year’s race does not have the same protagonists, thanks to Schumacher’s broken leg, but it does have both lead teams on Bridgestone tyres. Furthermore, this year, it’s Ferrari who seem to be making the most of the rubber, for all their poor performances in the last three races.

Salo has not gone particularly well on the high downforce circuits so far, but his familiarity with the car is improving, and outperforming Irvine in Monza can’t have hurt his confidence, so he will be looking for a decent result.

Ferrari’s current top dog appears to be optimistic; he certainly has hopes of winning the race through strong strategy and improved performance. It would be a mistake to write the joint Championship leader off at this time!

McLaren are expecting to have a slight performance advantage this weekend. Although Jordan have clearly closed the gap at low downforce circuits, the Nurburgring’s nature is completely the opposite, and plays to their aerodynamic strength, raising expectations for an edge over the Buzzing Hornets, and Ferrari’s recent lack of form only adds to these expectations. However, the team has not forgotten Ferrari’s shock performance at Monaco, so they are taking little for granted!

Behind the top three, Benetton can expect some return to form. Fisichella in particular goes well here, and their car is clearly happier at high downforce circuits, as results in Hungary and Monaco attest. They clearly face a stiff challenge against the resurgent Williams team, however, who have recently brought their car on significantly.

Ralf Schumacher will be looking to perform well in what is yet another home Grand Prix, and did very well last year; furthermore, Zanardi is starting to look competitive, and though he is unlikely to outperform the German this time out, there’s a possibility of points if his car remains intact for the entire race!

Sauber will have their hands full competing against the BAR’s and Prost’s, though Jean Alesi has been known to find some brilliant qualifying laps here. Minardi will again be looking to mix with their bigger play-fellows, whilst Arrows have clearly consigned the remainder of the season to developing next year’s car.

So, it’s likely to be tight at the front, with Hakkinen, Coulthard, Irvine and Frentzen fighting to qualify in the top four places, and Salo, Barrichello, Schumacher, Fisichella and Zanardi hot on their heels.

The race is likely to remain relatively static, but tyre choice will be critical – many teams are likely to take the Extra Soft option, which will boost qualifying performance, but could lead to a tail off similar to Michael Schumacher’s in 1998. However, whilst strategy is likely to be key, sheer performance can win the day, as the Ice Man demonstrated last year.

European Grand Prix Weekend