For this season I used the 1998 schedule but the teams, drivers, and performance data of the 2000 season. I drove for Ferrari - number two to Michael Schumacher, replacing Rubens Barrichello.

1 - Grand Prix of Australia - Melbourne
(E. Irvine)
Distance: 58 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING | WARMUP | RACE
DRIVER STANDINGS | TEAM STANDINGS

Want to hear a bittersweet story? Read on. I had a middle-of-the-pack car, not one to challenge for the win here, but I knew I'd have at least a small shot at a points finish. So I made that my goal. I worked my way up reasonably quickly to run in the top 5, finding myself in 3rd when, around lap 44, I suffered a broken exhaust and lost top-end speed in a big way. Nonetheless, I had enough of a lead over the 4th-place car of Irvine that I managed to hold 3rd over the ensuing laps - and then, suddenly, first one then the other of the cars in front of me (Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher) unexpectedly took to the pits and I found myself in the lead! But my good luck was short-lived. Of all things, I found that, because my mileage had decreased with the exhaust problem, I hadn't taken enough fuel on my final stop to get me to the end and I'd have to pit - unbelievably - on the last lap for one more liter of fuel! I fell to 8th and finished there. You want to talk about depressing?

 

2 - Grand Prix of Brazil - Interlagos

(M. Schumacher)
Distance: 72 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING | WARMUP | RACE
DRIVER STANDINGS | TEAM STANDINGS

Pit strategy was my undoing here. I had a beautifully-handling car, but its performance was at the expense of horrendous front tire wear - I knew it would necessitate three stops. Unfortunately, the rest of the field seemed to favor a two-stop strategy, so I ended up falling back and finishing in the middle of the pack. The race itself wasn't particularly exciting or noteworthy in any way; I love the circuit, but obviously I'll need to work on a more forgiving setup when I come back here. Once the fronts began giving out, the car became an understeering monster to drive.

 

3 - Grand Prix of Argentina - Buenos Aires

(M. Schumacher)
Distance: 72 laps • Weather: overcast/sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING | WARMUP | RACE
DRIVER STANDINGS | TEAM STANDINGS

Once more, I had a decent car, not one to contend for a win but one with which I knew I might be able to pick up a point or two. I had a very good start and in fact ran 3rd for most of the day, until, about halfway through the race, I was beset with an oil leak and the engine caught on fire. So I went out in a blaze of glory. This isn't one of my favorite circuits (is it anybody's?), but I do love the Viborita/Curva del Ombú sequence; conversely, I detest the exit from the Senna S when the car just washes out and you lose all momentum. Taking Ascari flat-out is quite easy to do once the tires have warmed up, and that's about the only other corner on this circuit that's enjoyable. Otherwise this Grand Prix is just a chore.

 

4 - Grand Prix of San Marino - Imola

(S. Pitkin)
Distance: 62 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING | WARMUP | RACE
DRIVER STANDINGS | TEAM STANDINGS

Yet again, I opted for three stops to everyone else's two, but this time I was fast enough to pull it off. I was quick in every session and qualified 4th, so I knew I'd be in a position to win if I didn't make any mistakes. While there isn't a lot to report as far as action during the race, it was nevertheless pretty intense, and I concentrated on racing myself each lap - trying to better my lap times as I went. As expected, the McLarens and my teammate were my primary competitors, so I had to smile when I went by Hakkinen at one point and noticed he was missing a rear wing; that he managed to finish just one lap down is pretty amazing. The backmarkers could be tricky, but I didn't have any really close calls; it was smooth sailing all the way. The setup, predominantly the work of Steve Sherris, was phenomenal - one of the best-handling cars I've ever driven, particularly in the way it snapped into position so beautifully when exiting corners.

 

5 - Grand Prix of Monaco - Monte Carlo

(S. Pitkin)
Distance: 78 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING | WARMUP | RACE
DRIVER STANDINGS | TEAM STANDINGS

This was one of the most incredible races I've run in any sim - and my first legitimate victory at Monaco. I worked my way from 8th at the start to 4th in the first 15 or so laps, but soon realized a couple of things: (a) I wouldn't be challenging for the lead any time soon because it was all I could do to maintain the gap between myself and 3rd, and (b) my three-stop strategy was going to hurt me considering everyone else was on either a one- or two-stop strategy. So I focused on turning the quickest laps I could, and ultimately wound up struggling with Coulthard for 3rd and taking it prior to my final stop. Traffic was a major factor, and it was traffic that allowed me to catch up to 2nd-place Hakkinen and get by him (in an amazing move, as we split one of the Arrows right in the middle of Portier). My teammate Schumacher, meantime, must have surrendered the lead to duck into the pits, because I found myself in 1st with Hakkinen right on my tail, which was pretty much the case for the remainder of the race. At one point, I rounded Mirabeau to find three cars, having been in a massive shunt, blocking the track; I picked my way through the carnage hoping it would give me a bit of breathing space between myself and Hakkinen, but he managed to stay right with me. The backmarkers made for an exciting race, and I can't believe I managed a win considering that I was honestly a 3rd- or 4th-place car out there.

 

6 - Grand Prix of Spain - Barcelona

(M. Schumacher)
Distance: 64 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING | WARMUP | RACE
DRIVER STANDINGS | TEAM STANDINGS

I'm quite pleased with this result. By second practice - and after a horrendous qualifying session - I realized I needed some drastic setup changes, and instituted them prior to the race. Thereafter I was happy with the feel of the car, though once again my three-stop strategy essentially precluded a victory. During the race I was able to run roughly equivalent lap times to my teammate Schumacher. I found I would lose a bit of time to the competition in the first part of Repsol, but I could make it up at Seat and the run up to Campsa, and by late braking at La Caixa. By the time I returned to the track after my final stop I was in 3rd and pulling slowly away from 4th-place Trulli while maintaining about a 15-second gap between myself and 2nd-place Coulthard. Traffic no doubt helped me draw to within 10 seconds of Coulthard with a couple laps to go, but there wasn't enough time for me to try to capitalize further. Nevertheless, I'm happy with a podium after my disappointing qualifying result and uncertainties about the setup for the race.

 

7 - Grand Prix of Canada - Montreal

(M. Schumacher)
Distance: 69 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING | WARMUP | RACE
DRIVER STANDINGS | TEAM STANDINGS

A pretty horrible weekend searching for the right setup ended in a shunt and a premature exit from the race. I was all right in Friday practice, but I just couldn't squeeze any more speed out of the car for Saturday, and I knew qualifying would be rough. The setup I finally opted to use was reasonably quick at the outset (solid 1:22s and low 1:23s), but it suffered from the worst front tire wear I think I've ever had to deal with. I knew it would be a problem from practice, but I didn't expect that with a couple laps left before my first stop the car would become practically undriveable. I had practiced with hard-compound tires as well, but felt they would slow me down too much to be competitive. I should have gone with them. In any case, I had a great start and over the next two or three laps worked my way into 3rd - which surprised me, to be sure - but after about 15 laps my fronts were just about gone, and as cars began catching and overtaking me, I got squirrelly and was nailed by one of them (I'm not sure whom). Well, I didn't expect much from the outset here, but Magny-Cours is up next and that's one of my favorite circuits ...

 

8 - Grand Prix of France - Magny-Cours

(S. Pitkin)
Distance: 72 laps • Weather: sunny
1st PRACTICE | 2nd PRACTICE | QUALIFYING | WARMUP | RACE
DRIVER STANDINGS | TEAM STANDINGS

My third victory of the season, and a much-needed one. I'd had to use René Smit's MGPPower utility to increase everyone else's performance as, for some reason, I seemed to be leaving them in the dust. As it turned out, my teammate Schumacher was my main adversary for the first third of the race and, I presumed, would remain so throughout. I ran several intense laps keeping to within a second of him, pushing as hard as I possibly could to gain ground each lap but only barely succeeding. Finally I got by in a bit of traffic, and though he continued to breathe down my neck for several laps, eventually he dropped back, obviously suffering some sort of mechanical problem (he finished way back in 10th, a lap down). Thereafter his brother Ralf, and then Fisichella, were the only competitors who threatened, and they weren't much of a concern. A great weekend for me at what is probably my favorite circuit, and a great result which will keep us in the championship hunt.