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- Intercourse, PA
- Carbonox
This is extremely fun to do. In F1 2002, you can do spectator mode with the lowest possible amount of laps, putting the slowest cars in front and the fastest in the back - in other words, the order would be like this:
Row 1: Minardi
2: Arrows
3: BAR
4: Jordan
5: Toyota
6: Jaguar
7: Sauber
8: Renault
9: McLaren
10: Williams
11: Ferrari
Especially the first few laps will provide exceedingly high action when the faster cars are constantly doing what they can to make progress, while it's possible that someone in a slower car manages to get in front at the beginning and escape, to be caught on the final laps. I just decided to start a full season with this and see how it all ends up.
1: Australian Grand Prix: 6 laps
Webber was on pole for his home Grand Prix, but was passed by Frentzen early on, and Panis also got ahead. During the first lap, Sato went off in one of the fastest corners of the track, and M. Schumacher was also claimed in the sandtrap. Just in the next corner, R. Schumacher collided with Fisichella, who went into the sand, and RSC spun himself, getting in the way of Trulli and David Coulthard, who lost a tire and was out instantly. RSC also retired in the same incident, while Trulli lost a major amount of time. M. Schumacher tried to work his way past Salo, but was also hit and both lost valuable time.
After Montoya went in the grass on lap 2, Barrichello and Räikkönen were the only front-runners who had done a clean race so far, but Räikkönen was back in 10th position while Barrichello made progress. Webber held 3rd for long before the pressure of Barrichello and De la Rosa was too much. Then, Panis retired with mechanical problems from a podium position. Shortly afterwards, Räikkönen retired after he was hit by Webber who he just had passed, also losing a tire. McNish and M. Schumacher also went off the track (Toyota drivers really don't like him, eh?). By now, the top 6 was Barrichello, Frentzen, De la Rosa, Button, Villeneuve, Montoya. The latter passed Villeneuve shortly afterwards, and MSC got through Webber easily for 7th. De la Rosa did everything he could to pass the slower Frentzen, while Button was rapidly approaching. MSC passed Villeneuve while Sato had a mechanical failure.
Last 2 laps and De la Rosa still hadn't found a passing spot. Button had just caught up, when he retired with an engine failure. And as an addition, Trulli also retired about at the same time, though from last place. Montoya had now got ahead of H-H and Pedro rather easily, and next up there was Schumi looking for a chance as the last lap came. He made it between turns 2 and 3 - can he be stopped at all? However, his time simply ran out as Montoya was already a considerable distance away, and Barrichello even further. Rubinho crossed the line as the race winner, getting a perfect start for the season. No further changes occurred among the other points finishers.
2: Malaysian Grand Prix: 6 laps
Right at the first lap, Trulli was forced to retire with a failed engine, making the Renault team's progress even more difficult. Then in the 4th corner, collisions took place when Massa, Yoong and De la Rosa all went off the track, and while rejoining, Pedro clipped Villeneuve who unfortunately spun off. Frentzen was clearly leading after the start, while Montoya, Räikkönen and Coulthard were making up ground very rapidly, being 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively after only half a lap. However, Montoya soon had an engine failure, losing a would-be victory, and Barrichello and M. Schumacher also got into point-scoring positions in no time, with R. Schumacher in 8th after one lap behind Massa. Barrichello did everything he could to pass Coulthard, with M. Schumacher right behind him.
Räikkönen passed Frentzen and Coulthard also got through, but when Frentzen made contact with Räikkönen after getting the inside line, he lost time and dropped behind the Ferrari's, with Kimi and David in a 1-2 lead. M. Schumacher forced his way ahead of Barrichello, but was re-passed shortly after, with R. Schumacher also catching up in 5th place, getting the fastest lap. MSC passed both Barrichello and Coulthard for 2nd in the beginning of the lap, and Barrichello also made his way past DC, followed by RSC. The Ferrari's now raised their pressure on Räikkönen, being significantly faster, and MSC eventually made his move after the half-point. Räikkönen had no chance with the slower car, and had to focus on keeping Barrichello behind.
Barrichello had notable trouble keeping up with Räikkönen despite having a faster car, and never managed to make it to passing distance, while R. Schumacher still stood a slight chance for 3rd place, hanging right behind. Salo retired with an engine failure from 15th place late on the penultimate lap as only the 3rd retirement. On the tight left in about the mid-point of the last lap, R. Schumacher aggressively tried to pass Barrichello, but failed to do so, instead causing some contact between the two. M. Schumacher cruised to victory and into the shared championship lead with Barrichello. No big surprises occurred on the results, with Coulthard coming 5th and Button 6th as the strongest midfield runner. Sato retired just before the finish line, but far away from any points.
3: Brazilian Grand Prix: 8 laps
A tight course with lots of chances for contact, so it was going to be a fun race to watch. At the start, Frentzen couldn't pass Webber while Yoong made contact with the aggressive Fisichella, and several drivers were claimed in the chaos, though no one was forced into retirement. Coulthard was up at 8th before he was hit and spun into the wall, but returned to 12th position. Barrichello was quick to make progress in his home race, while De la Rosa went far off in a corner and onto the grass, recovering to 11th position but losing 6 places. Frentzen was again in the lead, but Barrichello was coming extremely rapidly in 3rd place, trying to get by Villeneuve. M. Schumacher was also high in 5th, trying to pass Massa. Barrichello won his battle and pressured Frentzen, and made it in the end of lap 2.
M. Schumacher passed Massa and Villeneuve for 3rd, showing that Ferrari really wanted to lead the championship from the beginning. He passed Frentzen, who was then the next victim for R. Schumacher. Coulthard was holding 5th while Montoya and Räikkönen were considerably further back. Both, however, moved into the pack that was battling for 6th place. R. Schumacher went ahead of Frentzen, while Montoya was already in 7th and Räikkönen 11th. Frentzen was holding up Button and Montoya, but not for long as he was dropped out of points rather quickly. Both Sato and McNish retired at the same time, and Montoya passed Button for 5th. Räikkönen aggressively moved to 8th past Massa and Villeneuve, with only two cars separating him from points. His next target was Frentzen, who was noticeably slower in the Arrows, but held up Kimi until another aggressive overtake came in the tight section.
Not much was happening in the points battle, except for Montoya's charge towards Coulthard and MSC's charge towards Barrichello - the midfield was having a good scramble though. Villeneuve became the 3rd retirement with an engine failure, and Panis was another retirement on the last lap. Räikkönen was too far away from Button to do anything, and the field finished the race cleanly. Barrichello won and re-claimed his sole lead, with the Schumacher brothers in 2nd and 3rd. Coulthard finished ahead of Montoya and Button took the last point again.
4: San Marino Grand Prix: 7 laps
Ah, Imola. The first European race of the season. The best cars didn't gain much ground at the start, essentially forcing them to do the passing during the race. Webber retired early to a technical failure and forced some drivers to slow down. Montoya, Barrichello and Räikkönen were the quickest to make progress, though Räikkönen lost some ground and got passed by R. Schumacher, but the big brother was left in traffic and couldn't get through Kimi just now. Salo and RSC then had a collision, losing lots of time, and Sato also went off the track... twice! Bernoldi was leading from Trulli and Villeneuve, with Barrichello creeping past the former champion as well. Villeneuve couldn't hold his ground against the Williamses either.
M. Schumacher then went off in the quick chicane just after getting ahead of Räikkönen. Bernoldi then lost ground to the leaders, but went slightly off and clipped R. Schumacher, who spun as a result. Barrichello, Trulli and Montoya were far ahead of their competitors now, while Räikkönen went past De la Rosa, Villeneuve and finally Bernoldi, with the Schumacher brothers approaching behind him as well. In third place, Montoya struggled with catching Trulli, and R. Schumacher wasn't able to easily pick off Räikkönen either, eventually getting passed by his brother. RSC refused to give up, but MSC forcefully made the pass in the last chicane. Then, MSC started to make progress on Räikkönen for one last time, and Montoya found Trulli's slipstream as only one lap remained. R. Schumacher also began to put up pressure on MSC on the last lap and used his moment when MSC got through the quick chicane slowly. RSC and MSC collided shortly afterwards, with MSC nearly spinning out, but the older brother still made it 5th and left the previous year's winner in 6th.
In the end, Barrichello won again with the rest of the order unchanged - Trulli impressively in 2nd, Montoya 3rd and Räikkönen 4th, ahead of the Schumachers. Could justice be made by Barrichello taking the title? We shall see...
5: Spanish Grand Prix: 7 laps
Following Mika Häkkinen's disappointing retirement the previous season, it was time to head back to Catalunya and see if M. Schumacher could get back to winning ways. Webber instantly retired due to technical failures, while R. Schumacher and Coulthard were the quickest 'top cars' to make progress. De la Rosa got nearly spun off by Frentzen, which cost time for especially R. Schumacher behind them, and both the Ferrari's moved ahead. Eventually, Yoong became the next retirement, marking a disastrous record for Minardi. McNish was leading the race after an excellent start, with Fisichella and Villeneuve holding up Barrichello. MSC got through them all for 2nd place, and Barrichello soon made the same progress. Coulthard and RSC sneaked up on Fisichella after getting rid of Villeneuve, who retired at the beginning of lap 3. MSC and Barrichello passed McNish for the lead.
RSC was the next one to pressure McNish, but Coulthard challenged him, only to be held up by McNish to lose his position. Then retired Massa, again to mechanical problems. Montoya found his way right behind the pack and passed Coulthard, then following RSC past McNish. Räikkönen was making slower progress, but still coming quickly from behind, reaching McNish and de la Rosa with several laps still to go. Schumacher clocked the fastest laps all the time, not allowing Barrichello very close at all. The action had pretty quickly de-heated, except for Räikkönen fighting the drivers ahead to be able to snatch one last point. He did eventually get up to 6th, which essentially ended the race as now there were Ferrari's, Williamses and McLarens in point-scoring positions in their respective order. Apparently this track isn't very suited for reverse-grid madness, but well... Toyota's disappointing weekend got even more disappointing when Salo retired with a mechanical failure.
In other words, final results: MSC, RB, RSC, JPM, DC and KR.
6: Austrian Grand Prix: 8 laps
Looks fun, it was wet in the race day and the track isn't the easiest one to pass in. The start was close, with no leaders immediately gaining huge ground. A pile-up took place in the hairpin when Massa and Salo collided, forcing Barrichello and Trulli into a stop. Montoya was using brave lines to pass, and nearly was collected by McNish when doing this. Villeneuve led from Fisichella, Button and M. Schumacher, who made very promising progress, while Frentzen in 5th held up the Williams and McLaren cars. MSC passed Villeneuve to make it into the lead very quickly.
Irvine was the first retirement. Villeneuve was now leading a train of cars that really wanted to get ahead in the close quarters. Coulthard got to 4th already, but RSC passed him from the inside of the first corner, and moved past Fisichella and Villeneuve as well. Montoya was looking to get through Button, and eventually succeeded in that, which proved to be important. Fisichella still hadn't figured out how to pass Villeneuve, and Heidfeld had quickly moved into the pack, but even more rapidly was coming Barrichello, who needed the points for his championship battle. Montoya had passed Coulthard for 3rd place, and the rest was basically cruising for the leading drivers. Fisichella had surrendered to Heidfeld and Barrichello, who were still being held by Villeneuve though. Barrichello forced his way alongside and eventually past the BAR driver. Heidfeld finally found the way ahead of Villeneuve too, but was already outside the points, which lessened the value of his move. So much for suprising point-scorers... Oh, but De la Rosa had one last retirement in the final lap.
Order: MSC, RSC, JPM, DC, JB, RB.
Drivers' points (Round 6)
1. Michael Schumacher, 42
2. Rubens Barrichello, 41
3. J-P Montoya, 19
4. Ralf Schumacher, 18
5. Kimi Räikkönen, 10
6. David Coulthard, 10
7. Jarno Trulli, 6
8. Jenson Button, 4
9. Heinz-Harald Frentzen, 3
10. Pedro de la Rosa, 2
11. Jacques Villeneuve, 1
Constructors' points (Round 5)
1. Ferrari, 83
2. Williams-BMW, 37
3. McLaren-Mercedes, 20
4. Renault, 10
5. Arrows-Cosworth, 3
6. Jaguar-Cosworth, 2
7. BAR-Honda, 1
Row 1: Minardi
2: Arrows
3: BAR
4: Jordan
5: Toyota
6: Jaguar
7: Sauber
8: Renault
9: McLaren
10: Williams
11: Ferrari
Especially the first few laps will provide exceedingly high action when the faster cars are constantly doing what they can to make progress, while it's possible that someone in a slower car manages to get in front at the beginning and escape, to be caught on the final laps. I just decided to start a full season with this and see how it all ends up.
1: Australian Grand Prix: 6 laps
Webber was on pole for his home Grand Prix, but was passed by Frentzen early on, and Panis also got ahead. During the first lap, Sato went off in one of the fastest corners of the track, and M. Schumacher was also claimed in the sandtrap. Just in the next corner, R. Schumacher collided with Fisichella, who went into the sand, and RSC spun himself, getting in the way of Trulli and David Coulthard, who lost a tire and was out instantly. RSC also retired in the same incident, while Trulli lost a major amount of time. M. Schumacher tried to work his way past Salo, but was also hit and both lost valuable time.
After Montoya went in the grass on lap 2, Barrichello and Räikkönen were the only front-runners who had done a clean race so far, but Räikkönen was back in 10th position while Barrichello made progress. Webber held 3rd for long before the pressure of Barrichello and De la Rosa was too much. Then, Panis retired with mechanical problems from a podium position. Shortly afterwards, Räikkönen retired after he was hit by Webber who he just had passed, also losing a tire. McNish and M. Schumacher also went off the track (Toyota drivers really don't like him, eh?). By now, the top 6 was Barrichello, Frentzen, De la Rosa, Button, Villeneuve, Montoya. The latter passed Villeneuve shortly afterwards, and MSC got through Webber easily for 7th. De la Rosa did everything he could to pass the slower Frentzen, while Button was rapidly approaching. MSC passed Villeneuve while Sato had a mechanical failure.
Last 2 laps and De la Rosa still hadn't found a passing spot. Button had just caught up, when he retired with an engine failure. And as an addition, Trulli also retired about at the same time, though from last place. Montoya had now got ahead of H-H and Pedro rather easily, and next up there was Schumi looking for a chance as the last lap came. He made it between turns 2 and 3 - can he be stopped at all? However, his time simply ran out as Montoya was already a considerable distance away, and Barrichello even further. Rubinho crossed the line as the race winner, getting a perfect start for the season. No further changes occurred among the other points finishers.
2: Malaysian Grand Prix: 6 laps
Right at the first lap, Trulli was forced to retire with a failed engine, making the Renault team's progress even more difficult. Then in the 4th corner, collisions took place when Massa, Yoong and De la Rosa all went off the track, and while rejoining, Pedro clipped Villeneuve who unfortunately spun off. Frentzen was clearly leading after the start, while Montoya, Räikkönen and Coulthard were making up ground very rapidly, being 2nd, 3rd and 4th respectively after only half a lap. However, Montoya soon had an engine failure, losing a would-be victory, and Barrichello and M. Schumacher also got into point-scoring positions in no time, with R. Schumacher in 8th after one lap behind Massa. Barrichello did everything he could to pass Coulthard, with M. Schumacher right behind him.
Räikkönen passed Frentzen and Coulthard also got through, but when Frentzen made contact with Räikkönen after getting the inside line, he lost time and dropped behind the Ferrari's, with Kimi and David in a 1-2 lead. M. Schumacher forced his way ahead of Barrichello, but was re-passed shortly after, with R. Schumacher also catching up in 5th place, getting the fastest lap. MSC passed both Barrichello and Coulthard for 2nd in the beginning of the lap, and Barrichello also made his way past DC, followed by RSC. The Ferrari's now raised their pressure on Räikkönen, being significantly faster, and MSC eventually made his move after the half-point. Räikkönen had no chance with the slower car, and had to focus on keeping Barrichello behind.
Barrichello had notable trouble keeping up with Räikkönen despite having a faster car, and never managed to make it to passing distance, while R. Schumacher still stood a slight chance for 3rd place, hanging right behind. Salo retired with an engine failure from 15th place late on the penultimate lap as only the 3rd retirement. On the tight left in about the mid-point of the last lap, R. Schumacher aggressively tried to pass Barrichello, but failed to do so, instead causing some contact between the two. M. Schumacher cruised to victory and into the shared championship lead with Barrichello. No big surprises occurred on the results, with Coulthard coming 5th and Button 6th as the strongest midfield runner. Sato retired just before the finish line, but far away from any points.
3: Brazilian Grand Prix: 8 laps
A tight course with lots of chances for contact, so it was going to be a fun race to watch. At the start, Frentzen couldn't pass Webber while Yoong made contact with the aggressive Fisichella, and several drivers were claimed in the chaos, though no one was forced into retirement. Coulthard was up at 8th before he was hit and spun into the wall, but returned to 12th position. Barrichello was quick to make progress in his home race, while De la Rosa went far off in a corner and onto the grass, recovering to 11th position but losing 6 places. Frentzen was again in the lead, but Barrichello was coming extremely rapidly in 3rd place, trying to get by Villeneuve. M. Schumacher was also high in 5th, trying to pass Massa. Barrichello won his battle and pressured Frentzen, and made it in the end of lap 2.
M. Schumacher passed Massa and Villeneuve for 3rd, showing that Ferrari really wanted to lead the championship from the beginning. He passed Frentzen, who was then the next victim for R. Schumacher. Coulthard was holding 5th while Montoya and Räikkönen were considerably further back. Both, however, moved into the pack that was battling for 6th place. R. Schumacher went ahead of Frentzen, while Montoya was already in 7th and Räikkönen 11th. Frentzen was holding up Button and Montoya, but not for long as he was dropped out of points rather quickly. Both Sato and McNish retired at the same time, and Montoya passed Button for 5th. Räikkönen aggressively moved to 8th past Massa and Villeneuve, with only two cars separating him from points. His next target was Frentzen, who was noticeably slower in the Arrows, but held up Kimi until another aggressive overtake came in the tight section.
Not much was happening in the points battle, except for Montoya's charge towards Coulthard and MSC's charge towards Barrichello - the midfield was having a good scramble though. Villeneuve became the 3rd retirement with an engine failure, and Panis was another retirement on the last lap. Räikkönen was too far away from Button to do anything, and the field finished the race cleanly. Barrichello won and re-claimed his sole lead, with the Schumacher brothers in 2nd and 3rd. Coulthard finished ahead of Montoya and Button took the last point again.
4: San Marino Grand Prix: 7 laps
Ah, Imola. The first European race of the season. The best cars didn't gain much ground at the start, essentially forcing them to do the passing during the race. Webber retired early to a technical failure and forced some drivers to slow down. Montoya, Barrichello and Räikkönen were the quickest to make progress, though Räikkönen lost some ground and got passed by R. Schumacher, but the big brother was left in traffic and couldn't get through Kimi just now. Salo and RSC then had a collision, losing lots of time, and Sato also went off the track... twice! Bernoldi was leading from Trulli and Villeneuve, with Barrichello creeping past the former champion as well. Villeneuve couldn't hold his ground against the Williamses either.
M. Schumacher then went off in the quick chicane just after getting ahead of Räikkönen. Bernoldi then lost ground to the leaders, but went slightly off and clipped R. Schumacher, who spun as a result. Barrichello, Trulli and Montoya were far ahead of their competitors now, while Räikkönen went past De la Rosa, Villeneuve and finally Bernoldi, with the Schumacher brothers approaching behind him as well. In third place, Montoya struggled with catching Trulli, and R. Schumacher wasn't able to easily pick off Räikkönen either, eventually getting passed by his brother. RSC refused to give up, but MSC forcefully made the pass in the last chicane. Then, MSC started to make progress on Räikkönen for one last time, and Montoya found Trulli's slipstream as only one lap remained. R. Schumacher also began to put up pressure on MSC on the last lap and used his moment when MSC got through the quick chicane slowly. RSC and MSC collided shortly afterwards, with MSC nearly spinning out, but the older brother still made it 5th and left the previous year's winner in 6th.
In the end, Barrichello won again with the rest of the order unchanged - Trulli impressively in 2nd, Montoya 3rd and Räikkönen 4th, ahead of the Schumachers. Could justice be made by Barrichello taking the title? We shall see...
5: Spanish Grand Prix: 7 laps
Following Mika Häkkinen's disappointing retirement the previous season, it was time to head back to Catalunya and see if M. Schumacher could get back to winning ways. Webber instantly retired due to technical failures, while R. Schumacher and Coulthard were the quickest 'top cars' to make progress. De la Rosa got nearly spun off by Frentzen, which cost time for especially R. Schumacher behind them, and both the Ferrari's moved ahead. Eventually, Yoong became the next retirement, marking a disastrous record for Minardi. McNish was leading the race after an excellent start, with Fisichella and Villeneuve holding up Barrichello. MSC got through them all for 2nd place, and Barrichello soon made the same progress. Coulthard and RSC sneaked up on Fisichella after getting rid of Villeneuve, who retired at the beginning of lap 3. MSC and Barrichello passed McNish for the lead.
RSC was the next one to pressure McNish, but Coulthard challenged him, only to be held up by McNish to lose his position. Then retired Massa, again to mechanical problems. Montoya found his way right behind the pack and passed Coulthard, then following RSC past McNish. Räikkönen was making slower progress, but still coming quickly from behind, reaching McNish and de la Rosa with several laps still to go. Schumacher clocked the fastest laps all the time, not allowing Barrichello very close at all. The action had pretty quickly de-heated, except for Räikkönen fighting the drivers ahead to be able to snatch one last point. He did eventually get up to 6th, which essentially ended the race as now there were Ferrari's, Williamses and McLarens in point-scoring positions in their respective order. Apparently this track isn't very suited for reverse-grid madness, but well... Toyota's disappointing weekend got even more disappointing when Salo retired with a mechanical failure.
In other words, final results: MSC, RB, RSC, JPM, DC and KR.
6: Austrian Grand Prix: 8 laps
Looks fun, it was wet in the race day and the track isn't the easiest one to pass in. The start was close, with no leaders immediately gaining huge ground. A pile-up took place in the hairpin when Massa and Salo collided, forcing Barrichello and Trulli into a stop. Montoya was using brave lines to pass, and nearly was collected by McNish when doing this. Villeneuve led from Fisichella, Button and M. Schumacher, who made very promising progress, while Frentzen in 5th held up the Williams and McLaren cars. MSC passed Villeneuve to make it into the lead very quickly.
Irvine was the first retirement. Villeneuve was now leading a train of cars that really wanted to get ahead in the close quarters. Coulthard got to 4th already, but RSC passed him from the inside of the first corner, and moved past Fisichella and Villeneuve as well. Montoya was looking to get through Button, and eventually succeeded in that, which proved to be important. Fisichella still hadn't figured out how to pass Villeneuve, and Heidfeld had quickly moved into the pack, but even more rapidly was coming Barrichello, who needed the points for his championship battle. Montoya had passed Coulthard for 3rd place, and the rest was basically cruising for the leading drivers. Fisichella had surrendered to Heidfeld and Barrichello, who were still being held by Villeneuve though. Barrichello forced his way alongside and eventually past the BAR driver. Heidfeld finally found the way ahead of Villeneuve too, but was already outside the points, which lessened the value of his move. So much for suprising point-scorers... Oh, but De la Rosa had one last retirement in the final lap.
Order: MSC, RSC, JPM, DC, JB, RB.
Drivers' points (Round 6)
1. Michael Schumacher, 42
2. Rubens Barrichello, 41
3. J-P Montoya, 19
4. Ralf Schumacher, 18
5. Kimi Räikkönen, 10
6. David Coulthard, 10
7. Jarno Trulli, 6
8. Jenson Button, 4
9. Heinz-Harald Frentzen, 3
10. Pedro de la Rosa, 2
11. Jacques Villeneuve, 1
Constructors' points (Round 5)
1. Ferrari, 83
2. Williams-BMW, 37
3. McLaren-Mercedes, 20
4. Renault, 10
5. Arrows-Cosworth, 3
6. Jaguar-Cosworth, 2
7. BAR-Honda, 1
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