- This season combined the 1996 F1 schedule
with the 1999 cars and drivers. Always one for a challenge, I
decided to drive for Minardi (replacing Marc Gene), which means
I had my work cut out for me. Below are recaps from each of the
first seven events, including rundowns from all practice and
qualifying sessions. Note that these text files, again due to
limitations in the sim, contain erroneous country and car references
(I am, for instance, not Italian, and Jacques is certainly not
Japanese!). After the seventh race I opted to switch over to
MGP
(see my 1998 season recaps).
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- 1 -
Grand Prix of Australia - Melbourne
(M. Hakkinen)
Distance:
58 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING
| WARMUP
| RACE
I'm pretty
pleased with this result - started 13th, finished 13th. My goal
this season is simply to run mid-pack, possibly top-ten, with
this car ... and in the process make as few mistakes as possible.
I might have been able to pull off a 12th here, but I had to
take on worn tires for my last set which went off badly with
a half-dozen laps to go; I was compelled to come in and change
them. Nevertheless, I drove a pretty clean three-stop race, only
going off-course once toward the end (at turn 3) while trying
to keep ahead of a Williams. I'd had a great start, moving up
in the top five before my horsepower (or lack thereof) gradually
relegated me to around 12th, where I ran pretty much the whole
day. There were no incidents on the track which caused me problems,
and I needed only make three or four overtaking maneuvers, at
least one of which was for position. I did happen to find that
when a car (lead-lap or otherwise) got by me somewhere around
Hill or Ascari, I could quite handily take the position back
at Stewart. I think the stable setup was a key to my consistency
here, and I plan on continuing that setup strategy through the
rest of the season.
2
- Grand Prix of Brazil - Interlagos
(M. Hakkinen)
Distance:
71 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING
| WARMUP
| RACE
This result
was certainly not what I'd hoped, and it was partially my fault.
I was happy with my setup in practice and was elated to qualify
12th, but I found that my choice of C tires wasn't too good considering
my two-stop strategy - my first set wore much too quickly, so
that I was losing a lot of valuable time over the last half-dozen
laps of the run. I opted for Bs on my first stop, which were
perfect, but I was out of tires for my second stop, having only
a set of slightly-scrubbed Cs remaining. On top of my poor race
strategy, I was involved in a couple of shunts: Despite a good
start and running in 9th position for several laps, I found that
my competitors were absolutely rabid to get by my underpowered
car, taking some major chances which I didn't expect. Despite
keeping an eye on my mirrors, I still found myself inexplicably
rear-ended at one point (by whom I can't recall), bringing me
in for my first stop a couple laps early and lengthening it.
With only a few laps to go, I was trying to get out of everyone's
way as several cars came up to lap me at Arquibancadas, but was
punted nevertheless, sending me on a pretty scary ride (see shot
below) and taking me out of the race. So while I don't feel my
bad fortune was all of my own making, and a 15th-place finish
isn't all that bad for this car, I can't help but be a bit disappointed
after having held 9th for so many laps earlier on.
3
- Grand Prix of Argentina - Buenos Aires
(A. Wurz)
Distance:
72 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING
| WARMUP
| RACE
What started
out as a great weekend ended in a disappointing DNF when my engine
expired with just 7 laps remaining in the race. Not that it was
completely unexpected - I was, after all, pushing the engine
to its maximum (17,500 rpm), with reliability estimates accordingly
diminished. But the added power enabled me to run second-quick
in the first practice, remain a respectable 8th in the second,
and qualify 8th. My Minardi was actually the quickest car in
morning warmup. I moved up nicely at the start and, miraculously,
held 3rd position for about the first third of the race. While
I had opted for a three-stop strategy, most of my competition
seemed to have planned two stops. I should like to have seen
how everything would have shaken out - I'm certain I'd have finished
somewhere between 6th and 10th - but I wound up doing damage
to the front wing in an overtaking attempt, necessitating repairs
and an altered pit schedule. To make matters worse, a miscommunication
resulted in my taking on much more fuel than I needed, making
the car downright ponderous for the remainder of the race. (I
believe I re-activated the pit options box to confirm my tire
compound choice after having already specified fuel level, which
reset that value to the maximum.) After 65 long laps, my engine
blew, and I was done. At least a Minardi ran up front for a little
while!
4
- Grand Prix of Europe - Nürburgring
(S. Pitkin)
Distance:
67 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING
| WARMUP
| RACE
Well, I’m
still in shock: I actually brought a Minardi to the checkered
flag first! I drove what is probably the finest race of my sim-racing
career - this ranks right up there with my 1997 CART win at Surfers
Paradise. I knew from practice that I'd have a good car, but
I didn't expect that I could compensate for my lack of straightaway
speed enough in the curves to be able to stay ahead of Hakkinen's
McLaren (and the rest of the field) for any period of time, let
alone actually pull away by several tenths a lap. I got a good
start and took Hakkinen on the third lap for the lead, at which
point I concentrated on turning perfect laps and began drawing
away. I exercised more caution and patience in overtaking backmarkers
than I'd supposed I was capable of, usually preferring to set
them up in that uphill left/right segment and outbraking into
the RTL Kurve which follows it. I could take the uphill segment
flat out, and it was in this area that I made up most of my time
(I was turning 17,300 rpm, and was still noticeably slower on
the straights than most of the competition). As usual, I opted
for a three-stop strategy as opposed to the more common two stops,
but I knew what needed to be done to maintain the lead, and a
mysterious problem for Hakkinen took a bit of the pressure off
as Zanardi became my chief nemesis for the remainder of the race.
5
- Grand Prix of San Marino - Imola
(M. Schumacher)
Distance:
63 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING
| WARMUP
| RACE
A probable
win went by the wayside with another engine problem. I qualified
second (my best qualifying effort yet), took the lead on the
first lap, and held onto it handily. Everything looked terrific
until about lap 22, when my engine began overheating and spewing
smoke. I kept going, but a couple laps later it expired. It's
really unfortunate, because by then I'd pulled out enough of
a cushion to have been able to maintain the lead even accounting
for my extra stop. I think I'm getting more accustomed to car
setup and how to get the most out of this Minardi - I've certainly
been much more competitive in these last two races than I'd ever
have anticipated this season. I hesitate to detune the engine
too much, but I don't know which is worse: keeping the engine
together and finishing out of the top ten, or having a shot at
a win but risking a DNF. I suppose I prefer the latter. In any
case, Monaco is next - my best circuit by far - and I know I'll
have a shot at a good finish.
6
- Grand Prix of Monaco - Monte Carlo
(R. Schumacher)
Distance:
78 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING
| WARMUP
| RACE
Well, I
gave the Minardi a pretty spectacular ride this weekend: I topped
the charts in practice, took my first pole of the season, and
led the entire race ... then, with just five laps remaining,
the engine let go. I love this circuit, and know its nuances
better than any other; I'd figured on a win or at least a podium
here even before the season began. My car setup was excellent,
and my only error during the race was in damaging the front wing
following closely behind an (early-braking) backmarker while
attempting to overtake him at Loews. But my lead was large enough
that I could duck into the pits for a quick repair and still
maintain the lead. I was particularly cautious in overtaking
throughout the race, for good reason - it doesn't matter how
good your car is or how familiar you are with the circuit if
you misjudge a pass and wind up with serious damage. Most of
my overtaking I did at Mirabeau or Rascasse; one or two maneuvers
were accomplished at the swimming pool complex or coming off
Sainte Dévote. So yet another victory within reach, only
to be snatched away by an overstressed engine. It's my third
DNF in 6 races, and the second engine failure.
7
- Grand Prix of Spain - Barcelona
(M. Schumacher)
Distance:
65 laps • Weather: overcast/sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING
| WARMUP
| RACE
It was a
pretty dismal weekend, topped off with my 4th DNF of the season.
I couldn't quite get a handle on the setup here and was horrible
in practice, though I did manage to qualify 8th - a small victory.
I ran 8th for the first 20 laps or so, tailing Villeneuve the
whole way and having a generally good time; but after my first
stop I was mired in the back of the pack and had to deal with
being lapped by the leading cars. As Coulthard came up to overtake
me, he made an ambitious move on the outside going into Campsa,
and wound up taking us both out. I didn't expect a finish in
the points here, what with all my trouble setting up the car,
but I had hoped to at least be running at the end. One interesting
observation: I was running with Hakkinen (who was running near
the rear of the field with me) for a few laps after my stop,
and I could literally hear him having trouble getting the car
in gear. I noticed he managed to finish, but three laps down,
the last car running. Nice to know even the McLarens have mechanical
problems now and then.
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