My GP3 Career : 1996 - ????
Posted by Ajayrious
Hello there, in my time off from Fantasy F1 i do a career in Gp3 2000. I run 100% at Pro level, with no driver aids except throttle control as i use a keyboard. I allow myself to save the game at each pitstop.
Starting in 1996, i replaced Mika Hakkinen at Mclaren following him not recovering from his accident at Adelaide at the end of 1995, this is how i got on:
Following that season i was offered a full time deal with Mclaren for 1997, Hakkinen was back as my team-mate and David Coulthard replaced Jan Magnusson at Stewart. Heres the tables so far :
During the San Marino race i had a good battle with Jean Alesi which i captured using fraps and uploaded to youtube, which you can see here :
Unfortunately i suffered a Transmission problem with 2 laps to go which robbed me of victory.
Then at Monaco it was a wet race and had dried up and i was on intermediate tyres, and everyone else on slicks. I didnt have time to stop again and my tyres were gone and schumi was catching at about 2 seconds a lap. Just as he got within a second of me it started to rain again and i was able to pull away. I stopped the race at the 2 hour mark to make it as real as possible and won by about 10 seconds.
At Barcelona i qualified in 4th and got a brilliant start up to 2nd by turn one, i then passed Villeneuve into the first corner on lap 2 to take the lead, but at turn four i suffered a brake failure and crashed out at 150mph.
I'm now just starting the Canadian GP weekend
Starting in 1996, i replaced Mika Hakkinen at Mclaren following him not recovering from his accident at Adelaide at the end of 1995, this is how i got on:
Following that season i was offered a full time deal with Mclaren for 1997, Hakkinen was back as my team-mate and David Coulthard replaced Jan Magnusson at Stewart. Heres the tables so far :
During the San Marino race i had a good battle with Jean Alesi which i captured using fraps and uploaded to youtube, which you can see here :
Unfortunately i suffered a Transmission problem with 2 laps to go which robbed me of victory.
Then at Monaco it was a wet race and had dried up and i was on intermediate tyres, and everyone else on slicks. I didnt have time to stop again and my tyres were gone and schumi was catching at about 2 seconds a lap. Just as he got within a second of me it started to rain again and i was able to pull away. I stopped the race at the 2 hour mark to make it as real as possible and won by about 10 seconds.
At Barcelona i qualified in 4th and got a brilliant start up to 2nd by turn one, i then passed Villeneuve into the first corner on lap 2 to take the lead, but at turn four i suffered a brake failure and crashed out at 150mph.
I'm now just starting the Canadian GP weekend
Nice. Report more. But why not ace-level? 
Do you drive more than one race a day?
Do you drive more than one race a day?
Nice, when you finish a race your average posistion is 3rd on the first champ. and 1st on the 2nd :p
Maybe you should try finish more races :p though granted your second championship is full of reliability issues.
but i like stories like these
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
Maybe you should try finish more races :p though granted your second championship is full of reliability issues.
but i like stories like these
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
Great to see some race reports, all you read on this forum is people who only come here to request another car or track.
I'm doing a 2004 season with Jaguar myself currently 9th in the championship with only 2 races left. I also did a 2003 season, 7th with 42 points and a win in Hungary monsoon conditions 
Looking forward to hear more of your races!
I'm doing a 2004 season with Jaguar myself
currently 9th in the championship with only 2 races left. I also did a 2003 season, 7th with 42 points and a win in Hungary monsoon conditions Looking forward to hear more of your races!
use belini grip patch, that way you will drive with performance of the selected driver not default ones. In simple words: if you drive minardi you will be slow, if you drive ferrari you will be fast
are you blind? -no, I'm deaf, can't you see? -no, I'm blind.
are you blind? -no, I'm deaf, can't you see? -no, I'm blind.
1997 - Round 7 - Canada - Montreal
Qualifying
Qualifying went well once I'd gotten used to the track and grip levels, on my 2nd flying lap i put it on pole position although a bit down in the middle sector.
Race
In the race i got a good start but was overtaken by Villeneuve who slowly pulled away from me a gap of about 3 seconds which i was able to keep it at, but made a mistake and spun, hitting the wall and breaking my wing.
Coming in for a nose change i topped up the car with fuel and decided to make my first stop (of my original 2 stop strategy) early. When i came out i was in 18th and spent the rest of the race coming back through the field before finding myself 4th, 30 seconds behind Panis and 20 laps to go, so just cruised home and set fastest lap on the penultimate lap.
Michael Schumacher won the race having made 1 stop to Villeneuves 2.
Highlights
The result:
1. M Schumacher 69 Laps
2. J Villeneuve + 15 seconds
3. O Panis + 43 seconds
4. A Jones + 1m 7 seconds
5. G Fisichella + 1 Lap
6. A Wurz + 1 Lap
R. M Hakkinen (Engine)
Championships and Stats
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2008 03:19PM by Ajayrious.
Qualifying
Qualifying went well once I'd gotten used to the track and grip levels, on my 2nd flying lap i put it on pole position although a bit down in the middle sector.
Race
In the race i got a good start but was overtaken by Villeneuve who slowly pulled away from me a gap of about 3 seconds which i was able to keep it at, but made a mistake and spun, hitting the wall and breaking my wing.
Coming in for a nose change i topped up the car with fuel and decided to make my first stop (of my original 2 stop strategy) early. When i came out i was in 18th and spent the rest of the race coming back through the field before finding myself 4th, 30 seconds behind Panis and 20 laps to go, so just cruised home and set fastest lap on the penultimate lap.
Michael Schumacher won the race having made 1 stop to Villeneuves 2.
Highlights
The result:
1. M Schumacher 69 Laps
2. J Villeneuve + 15 seconds
3. O Panis + 43 seconds
4. A Jones + 1m 7 seconds
5. G Fisichella + 1 Lap
6. A Wurz + 1 Lap
R. M Hakkinen (Engine)
Championships and Stats
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/09/2008 03:19PM by Ajayrious.
Bongo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice. Report more. But why not ace-level?
> Do you drive more than one race a day?
Because i cannot win at Ace level, Pro level is good for me because i dont need to set the car up, and am about the same pace as the leading AI cars. Which makes it fun!!
Somedays i drive more than one race, but some races can last for months because of other commitments.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Nice. Report more. But why not ace-level?
> Do you drive more than one race a day?
Because i cannot win at Ace level, Pro level is good for me because i dont need to set the car up, and am about the same pace as the leading AI cars. Which makes it fun!!
Somedays i drive more than one race, but some races can last for months because of other commitments.
1997 - Round 8 - France - Magny Cours
Qualifying - Pole Position
Race
Got a good start, and was able to pull away quickly as Barrichello (who qualified 4th) got up to 2nd and held up everyone else. Then on lap 4 my engine grenaded.
Result
Pos Driver Time/Speed
1st Michael Schumacher 1h 35m 02.772s
Ferrari-Ferrari
2nd Heinz-Harald Frentzen +45.120s
Williams-Renault
3rd Ralf Schumacher -1 Lap
Jordan-Peugeot
4th Eddie Irvine -1 Lap
Ferrari-Ferrari
5th Giancarlo Fisichella -1 Lap
Jordan-Peugeot
6th Alexander Wurz -1 Lap
Benetton-Renault
Championships and Stats
Qualifying - Pole Position
Race
Got a good start, and was able to pull away quickly as Barrichello (who qualified 4th) got up to 2nd and held up everyone else. Then on lap 4 my engine grenaded.
Result
Pos Driver Time/Speed
1st Michael Schumacher 1h 35m 02.772s
Ferrari-Ferrari
2nd Heinz-Harald Frentzen +45.120s
Williams-Renault
3rd Ralf Schumacher -1 Lap
Jordan-Peugeot
4th Eddie Irvine -1 Lap
Ferrari-Ferrari
5th Giancarlo Fisichella -1 Lap
Jordan-Peugeot
6th Alexander Wurz -1 Lap
Benetton-Renault
Championships and Stats
Ajayrious, may I ask which carset are you using for the game, who made it? I saw the highlights and like the liveries very much
The helmet was made by Toosh about a decade ago.
The carset is Emac's 97 set.
1997 - Round 9 - Great Britain - Silverstone
Qualifying - Pole Position - 1m 23.135s
Race Highlights
Result
Pos Driver Time/Speed
1st Andrew Jones 1h 26m 57.559s
McLaren-Mercedes
2nd Michael Schumacher +1m 02.006s
Ferrari-Ferrari
3rd Jacques Villeneuve +1m 15.795s
Williams-Renault
4th Eddie Irvine -1 Lap
Ferrari-Ferrari
5th Jean Alesi -1 Lap
Benetton-Renault
6th Ralf Schumacher -1 Lap
Jordan-Peugeot
Championships
The carset is Emac's 97 set.
1997 - Round 9 - Great Britain - Silverstone
Qualifying - Pole Position - 1m 23.135s
Race Highlights
Result
Pos Driver Time/Speed
1st Andrew Jones 1h 26m 57.559s
McLaren-Mercedes
2nd Michael Schumacher +1m 02.006s
Ferrari-Ferrari
3rd Jacques Villeneuve +1m 15.795s
Williams-Renault
4th Eddie Irvine -1 Lap
Ferrari-Ferrari
5th Jean Alesi -1 Lap
Benetton-Renault
6th Ralf Schumacher -1 Lap
Jordan-Peugeot
Championships
1997 - Round 10 - Germany - Hockenheim
Qualifying -
1. Andrew Jones, McLaren - Mercedes - 1m 44.242s
2. Jacques Villeneuve, Williams - Renault - +0.219s
3. Michael Schumacher. Ferrari - +0.820s
4. Ralf Schumacher, Jordan - Peugeot - +0.843s
5. Mika Hakkinen, McLaren - Mercedes - +0.968s
6. Gerhard Berger, Benetton - Renault - +1.116s
Race
I had to take off alot of downforce to compete with the rest down the straights and although i had a good single lap pace, it was an uncomfortable car to drive in the race. Many times i braked too late, or braked too hard and felt the back end trying to get away. Never the less by the time of my first stop i was leading but having only a slender lead to Michael Schumacher i pitted earlier than scheduled on the same lap that he did as i didnt want him to put in some quick laps on fresh tyres and pass me.
After coming out i was behind Nakano who hadnt stopped yet, i'd just caught up to him when he developed an electrical problem. This slowed me down into Schumacher and he was able to slipstream past me as i braked for the 2nd chicane. However i was able to pick up my pace and repassed him a few laps later. I led until the 2nd pitstop which again i took early for the same reason.
When i came out i was behind another Prost, this time driven by Jarno Trulli. Catching upto him in the stadium section i attempted to pass him, but as i moved to try and retake a decent line for the first corner he was there and we touched, but i managed not to spin, although now trulli had repassed me and schumacher was right on my tail. On the very next lap however i was able to pass Trulli in the same place as before, this time taking care not to touch him. From then i just drove for the flag and prayed for reliablity.
Highlights
Result
Pos Driver Time/Speed
1st Andrew Jones 1h 21m 07.626s
McLaren-Mercedes
2nd Michael Schumacher +8.166s
Ferrari-Ferrari
3rd Heinz-Harald Frentzen +47.508s
Williams-Renault
4th Jarno Trulli +49.009s
Prost-Mugen-Honda
5th Shinji Nakano +1m 09.823s
Prost-Mugen-Honda
6th Gianni Morbidelli +1m 12.806s
Sauber-Petronas
Championships
1997 - Round Eleven - Hungary - Hungaroring
Qualifying
Qualifying started wet, but promised better weather later in the session, i came out with 10 minutes to go and did 2 runs, the 2nd of which came right at the end of the session and secured pole by 2 seconds at the head of a topsy turvy grid.
Race
I got a good start and led into the first corner, behind me Michael Schumacher took out Villeneuve, and Mika Hakkinen was involved in an incident with Johnny Herbert. JV was out of the race but the rest survived.
Meanwhile i had to fight off the advances of Giancarlo Fisichella who was on a 3 stop strategy, whilst i was starting to regret my decision to make 2 stops as with heavy fuel the car was understeering quite alot which is not good at Hungaroring.
Never the less i managed to hold him off until his pitstop, and from then on it was a boring race, the only real action involving me happened as i lost concentration whilst about 40 seconds in the lead and used too much kerb at the first chicane and spun. Despite this set back i drove on to comfortabley win the race with ease. Although it is fair to say that i wouldnt have had it all my own way had Schumacher not driven into Jacques, as he set the fastest lap and despite a good 10 laps hotlapping i could only get within a tenth of the time and that was on the limit.
Race Result
Pos Driver Time/Speed
1st Andrew Jones 1h 43m 46.228s
McLaren-Mercedes
2nd Eddie Irvine +59.015s
Ferrari-Ferrari
3rd Mika Hakkinen +1m 04.063s
McLaren-Mercedes
4th Michael Schumacher +1m 06.323s
Ferrari-Ferrari
5th Damon Hill -1 Lap
Arrows-Yamaha
6th Pedro Diniz -2 Laps
Arrows-Yamaha
Championship Positions
Qualifying -
1. Andrew Jones, McLaren - Mercedes - 1m 44.242s
2. Jacques Villeneuve, Williams - Renault - +0.219s
3. Michael Schumacher. Ferrari - +0.820s
4. Ralf Schumacher, Jordan - Peugeot - +0.843s
5. Mika Hakkinen, McLaren - Mercedes - +0.968s
6. Gerhard Berger, Benetton - Renault - +1.116s
Race
I had to take off alot of downforce to compete with the rest down the straights and although i had a good single lap pace, it was an uncomfortable car to drive in the race. Many times i braked too late, or braked too hard and felt the back end trying to get away. Never the less by the time of my first stop i was leading but having only a slender lead to Michael Schumacher i pitted earlier than scheduled on the same lap that he did as i didnt want him to put in some quick laps on fresh tyres and pass me.
After coming out i was behind Nakano who hadnt stopped yet, i'd just caught up to him when he developed an electrical problem. This slowed me down into Schumacher and he was able to slipstream past me as i braked for the 2nd chicane. However i was able to pick up my pace and repassed him a few laps later. I led until the 2nd pitstop which again i took early for the same reason.
When i came out i was behind another Prost, this time driven by Jarno Trulli. Catching upto him in the stadium section i attempted to pass him, but as i moved to try and retake a decent line for the first corner he was there and we touched, but i managed not to spin, although now trulli had repassed me and schumacher was right on my tail. On the very next lap however i was able to pass Trulli in the same place as before, this time taking care not to touch him. From then i just drove for the flag and prayed for reliablity.
Highlights
Result
Pos Driver Time/Speed
1st Andrew Jones 1h 21m 07.626s
McLaren-Mercedes
2nd Michael Schumacher +8.166s
Ferrari-Ferrari
3rd Heinz-Harald Frentzen +47.508s
Williams-Renault
4th Jarno Trulli +49.009s
Prost-Mugen-Honda
5th Shinji Nakano +1m 09.823s
Prost-Mugen-Honda
6th Gianni Morbidelli +1m 12.806s
Sauber-Petronas
Championships
1997 - Round Eleven - Hungary - Hungaroring
Qualifying
Qualifying started wet, but promised better weather later in the session, i came out with 10 minutes to go and did 2 runs, the 2nd of which came right at the end of the session and secured pole by 2 seconds at the head of a topsy turvy grid.
Race Starting Grid
Hungary - Hungaroring 1997
(77 Laps)
Pole 1
Andrew Jones
1m 29.820s 2
Giancarlo Fisichella
Row 2 3 1m 31.899s
Rubens Barrichello
1m 31.975s 4
Jacques Villeneuve
Row 3 5 1m 32.549s
Damon Hill
1m 32.934s 6
Michael Schumacher
Row 4 7 1m 33.101s
Jos Verstappen
1m 33.106s 8
Gerhard Berger
Row 5 9 1m 33.170s
Mika Salo
1m 33.184s 10
Mika Hakkinen
Row 6 11 1m 33.670s
Ralf Schumacher
1m 33.759s 12
Jean Alesi
Row 7 13 1m 33.783s
Ukyo Katayama
1m 34.067s 14
Johnny Herbert
Row 8 15 1m 34.072s
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
1m 34.133s 16
Gianni Morbidelli
Row 9 17 1m 34.225s
Eddie Irvine
1m 34.631s 18
Pedro Diniz
Row 10 19 1m 34.821s
David Coulthard
1m 34.961s 20
Jarno Trulli
Row 11 21 1m 35.783s
Tarso Marques
1m 36.230s 22
Shinji Nakano
1m 36.871sRace
I got a good start and led into the first corner, behind me Michael Schumacher took out Villeneuve, and Mika Hakkinen was involved in an incident with Johnny Herbert. JV was out of the race but the rest survived.
Meanwhile i had to fight off the advances of Giancarlo Fisichella who was on a 3 stop strategy, whilst i was starting to regret my decision to make 2 stops as with heavy fuel the car was understeering quite alot which is not good at Hungaroring.
Never the less i managed to hold him off until his pitstop, and from then on it was a boring race, the only real action involving me happened as i lost concentration whilst about 40 seconds in the lead and used too much kerb at the first chicane and spun. Despite this set back i drove on to comfortabley win the race with ease. Although it is fair to say that i wouldnt have had it all my own way had Schumacher not driven into Jacques, as he set the fastest lap and despite a good 10 laps hotlapping i could only get within a tenth of the time and that was on the limit.
Race Result
Pos Driver Time/Speed
1st Andrew Jones 1h 43m 46.228s
McLaren-Mercedes
2nd Eddie Irvine +59.015s
Ferrari-Ferrari
3rd Mika Hakkinen +1m 04.063s
McLaren-Mercedes
4th Michael Schumacher +1m 06.323s
Ferrari-Ferrari
5th Damon Hill -1 Lap
Arrows-Yamaha
6th Pedro Diniz -2 Laps
Arrows-Yamaha
Championship Positions
I've decided to pick this up where i left off however i seem to have done 2 more races since i last updated but i have no memory of them. lol.
anyway..
Round 14: Austria - A1 Ring
Still rusty from the mid season break i qualified a very disappointing 12th. However the start was good and i moved up to 4th in the first corner melee. After this i was behind my championship rival Schumacher just about matching his pace. Then Schumacher made a mistake which allowed me through but i was still falling away from Hakkinen in 2nd place whilst Villeneuve had a 20 second lead after 10 laps and obviously light on fuel.
But like for much of Villeneuve's season, pace was not enough and his engine blew just after his first pit stop leaving a McLaren one-two looking likely. I made my one and only stop first, joining just in front of Johnny Herbert but couldn't adjust to the tyres and the fuel load and kept making silly mistakes. By the time Schumacher came in for his stop he came out 10 seconds ahead of me, disaster.
It quickly went from bad to worse though as i span several times at turn one, hitting the inside kerb and dropping down to 6th where i remained for the rest of the race, just managing to keep from being lapped by my team mate who got a deserved 2nd win of the season.
Result
Pos Driver Time/Speed
1st Mika Hakkinen 1h 32m 48.857s
McLaren-Mercedes
2nd Michael Schumacher +24.210s
Ferrari-Ferrari
3rd Heinz-Harald Frentzen +41.410s
Williams-Renault
4th Olivier Panis +43.460s
Prost-Mugen-Honda
5th Jean Alesi +1m 09.576s
Benetton-Renault
6th Andrew Jones +1m 14.073s
McLaren-Mercedes
This means that in the championship my lead over Schumacher is down to 1 point whilst in the constructors championship McLaren - Mercedes extend their lead over Ferrari to 7 points.
Next Race: Luxembourg
anyway..
Round 14: Austria - A1 Ring
Still rusty from the mid season break i qualified a very disappointing 12th. However the start was good and i moved up to 4th in the first corner melee. After this i was behind my championship rival Schumacher just about matching his pace. Then Schumacher made a mistake which allowed me through but i was still falling away from Hakkinen in 2nd place whilst Villeneuve had a 20 second lead after 10 laps and obviously light on fuel.
But like for much of Villeneuve's season, pace was not enough and his engine blew just after his first pit stop leaving a McLaren one-two looking likely. I made my one and only stop first, joining just in front of Johnny Herbert but couldn't adjust to the tyres and the fuel load and kept making silly mistakes. By the time Schumacher came in for his stop he came out 10 seconds ahead of me, disaster.
It quickly went from bad to worse though as i span several times at turn one, hitting the inside kerb and dropping down to 6th where i remained for the rest of the race, just managing to keep from being lapped by my team mate who got a deserved 2nd win of the season.
Result
Pos Driver Time/Speed
1st Mika Hakkinen 1h 32m 48.857s
McLaren-Mercedes
2nd Michael Schumacher +24.210s
Ferrari-Ferrari
3rd Heinz-Harald Frentzen +41.410s
Williams-Renault
4th Olivier Panis +43.460s
Prost-Mugen-Honda
5th Jean Alesi +1m 09.576s
Benetton-Renault
6th Andrew Jones +1m 14.073s
McLaren-Mercedes
This means that in the championship my lead over Schumacher is down to 1 point whilst in the constructors championship McLaren - Mercedes extend their lead over Ferrari to 7 points.
Next Race: Luxembourg
Ahh, yes, the kerb at turn 1 at Austria
The amount of time is used to lose there, taking care not to hit the kerb at all!
Nice to read your race reports
The amount of time is used to lose there, taking care not to hit the kerb at all!
Nice to read your race reports
I've had GP3 for I don't know how long and decided some time ago to start a career and see how it went. Here's where I'm up to so far:
My career began in season 2000, starting off in the mighty Arrows (because they had the best livery of the minnows that year!)
First Grand Prix was Melbourne, my home Grand Prix, and hopes were for the top ten in qualifying and a top ten finish. A blistering qualy lap saw me take pole by a smidge from DC - not bad for rookie at his first GP! However it rained for the race and a dodgy setup and a bit of rookie exuberance (spun at Turn 4 after being passed by MS into the first corner on Lap 1 and dropped to the back of the field) saw me finish up in 9th, one place ahead of team mate Pedro de la Rosa.
Two DNFs followed, and then first points with a 6th at Silverstone, before another run of 3 DNFs. Things came good in Canada with an incredible 2nd from 7th on the grid, followed by two even more incredible wins, one at France and a lights to flag effort in Austria. Two more wins at Indy and Suzuka and a second at Sepang saw me finish the strongest of anyone in a championship no one wanted to win - Mika Hakkinen took his third straight title with a mere 86 points, with DC second on only 63. I ended up 5th in the Driver's standings, Pedro 15th and Arrows 3rd in the Constructors. The win in Japan was notable as I started 3rd and battled wheel to wheel with MS for much of the race, eventualy winning by less than 2 seconds.
My four wins and seven poles for the year saw Sir Frank come knocking for 2001...
2001 started brightly with two poles in Melbourne and Sepang, and a win and a fourth respectively. Things sucked for the next five races with a couple of crashes and mechanical problems before bouncing back with a dominant win at Montreal which is quickly becoming a happy hunting ground for me. Reliability (and crashing out) dogged me for the year so despite me winning 6 races for the season, Michael Schumacher claimed his third title with seven wins and 103 points. I wound up 2nd on 69 points, finishing off the year with a whimper with a 16th at Indy and a DNF at Suzuka. The highlight of the year was three wins in a row at Silvertsone, Hockenhiem and Budapest but by then the championship was already over. Qualy went to me over Ralf 15-2, fastest laps to me over Ralf 10-7, and my performance was enough to see the same line up retained for 2002.
2002.... CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR!!!!!
A tale of two ways to win a championship - very fast vs very consistent. I was very fast, Michael was uber-consistent, finishing off the podium only 3 times, significantly in three of the last four races. Meanwhile I DNF'd the opener in Melbourne thanks to dodgy electrics, before dominating in Malaysia, then a string of 3 third places before three wins on the trot, including Monaco for the first time and Montreal once again. During that time Michael racked up 2 wins, 4 seconds, a 3rd and a 4th.
After Canada Michael is on 51 and I'm on 52. Game on! We swap wins and third places in France and at the Nurburgring before disater strikes and I crash out at Silverstone trying too hard and Michael claims second. I bounce back with two wins in Germany and Hungary with Michael second in both, leaving me 86 and him on 83 with four races to go.
Controversy at Spa! I qualify on pole for the ninth time for the year with Ralf second so I'm hoping for a good start and that he'll be a good rear gunner for me. At the start however, on the entry to La Source, Michael drives straight into me (I'm not kidding!!) and in classic GP3 style sends my car rolling over and over again with wheels and wings flying everywhere. Michael meanwhile continued with no damage at all! He finished up in 3rd but the stewards (i.e. me) awarded him a 25 second penalty added to his race time, dropping him to 5 thus giving him only 2 points. So now it's 86 - 85 with three races to go.
Italy was a disaster - I was planning on a three stopper but lost a front wing early on, so switched to two stopper which just didn't work for me. After a very long, long race, I finished up 7th which was very frustrating, but at least team mate Ralf did the right thing by winning from his brother in second. 91-86 to Michael with two races to go.
So I'm down by 5 with two races remaining. Michael needs to win one and finish in the points in the other and he's claimed his fourth title. I really need to win both, given his consistency where he's only been off the podium once all year.
Off to Indy where I claim my 5th straight pole. Ralf's second while Michael's inexplicably qualified in 16th - by far his lowest grid slot for the year (I haven't played withe performance values I promise). A good start sees me still in the lead into Turn 1, Turn 2 and eventually the end of Lap 1 also. Ralf's right behind me, and we work a lead of several seconds over the rest of the field up to the first stops. Things are looking good - Ralf is a comforatble 3-4 seconds behind me, and everyone else a further 7 or 8 behind that. Then the happiest message I've seen flash upon the screen - 'Michael Schumacher is out of the race.' Transmission apparently, so now it's just a matter of cruising to the finish. Job done, me in 1st, Ralf in second.
96-91 to me with one race to go. Just finish in front of him anywhere and the title's mine!
The last race is in Japan again. My sixth straight pole, and Ralf again starting from second. Michael's starting from third so the run to the first corner will be interesting. I get a great get away, but Michael passes his brother so the battle is on! My lead increases a few tenths each lap, until I'm about 3 and half seconds in front, with Ralf being chased by Rubens another 3 or 4 behind that. And then another brilliant message flashes up on the screen 'Michael Schumacher is out of the race.' I can't believe my luck. That's the championship settled, I don't even need to finish. Michael had not finished lower than 5th all year, he'd won 3 races during the year but for whatever reason he couldn't finish the final two leaving me to take the wins and the championship!
I claimed 9 wins, 12 poles, 11 fastest laps, 106 points to win the Driver's Championship. Ralf had 4 wins, 2 poles, 1 fastest lap and 89 poitns to take 3rd in the Drivers and for Williams to take the Constructors.
In true Williams style though, once I'd won the world championship I was no longer needed. Toyota swooped (and offered a stupid amount of money), so for 2003 and 2004 and I'm going to be trying to give Toyota their first win. I'll let you all know how I go!
My career began in season 2000, starting off in the mighty Arrows (because they had the best livery of the minnows that year!)
First Grand Prix was Melbourne, my home Grand Prix, and hopes were for the top ten in qualifying and a top ten finish. A blistering qualy lap saw me take pole by a smidge from DC - not bad for rookie at his first GP! However it rained for the race and a dodgy setup and a bit of rookie exuberance (spun at Turn 4 after being passed by MS into the first corner on Lap 1 and dropped to the back of the field) saw me finish up in 9th, one place ahead of team mate Pedro de la Rosa.
Two DNFs followed, and then first points with a 6th at Silverstone, before another run of 3 DNFs. Things came good in Canada with an incredible 2nd from 7th on the grid, followed by two even more incredible wins, one at France and a lights to flag effort in Austria. Two more wins at Indy and Suzuka and a second at Sepang saw me finish the strongest of anyone in a championship no one wanted to win - Mika Hakkinen took his third straight title with a mere 86 points, with DC second on only 63. I ended up 5th in the Driver's standings, Pedro 15th and Arrows 3rd in the Constructors. The win in Japan was notable as I started 3rd and battled wheel to wheel with MS for much of the race, eventualy winning by less than 2 seconds.
My four wins and seven poles for the year saw Sir Frank come knocking for 2001...
2001 started brightly with two poles in Melbourne and Sepang, and a win and a fourth respectively. Things sucked for the next five races with a couple of crashes and mechanical problems before bouncing back with a dominant win at Montreal which is quickly becoming a happy hunting ground for me. Reliability (and crashing out) dogged me for the year so despite me winning 6 races for the season, Michael Schumacher claimed his third title with seven wins and 103 points. I wound up 2nd on 69 points, finishing off the year with a whimper with a 16th at Indy and a DNF at Suzuka. The highlight of the year was three wins in a row at Silvertsone, Hockenhiem and Budapest but by then the championship was already over. Qualy went to me over Ralf 15-2, fastest laps to me over Ralf 10-7, and my performance was enough to see the same line up retained for 2002.
2002.... CHAMPIONSHIP YEAR!!!!!
A tale of two ways to win a championship - very fast vs very consistent. I was very fast, Michael was uber-consistent, finishing off the podium only 3 times, significantly in three of the last four races. Meanwhile I DNF'd the opener in Melbourne thanks to dodgy electrics, before dominating in Malaysia, then a string of 3 third places before three wins on the trot, including Monaco for the first time and Montreal once again. During that time Michael racked up 2 wins, 4 seconds, a 3rd and a 4th.
After Canada Michael is on 51 and I'm on 52. Game on! We swap wins and third places in France and at the Nurburgring before disater strikes and I crash out at Silverstone trying too hard and Michael claims second. I bounce back with two wins in Germany and Hungary with Michael second in both, leaving me 86 and him on 83 with four races to go.
Controversy at Spa! I qualify on pole for the ninth time for the year with Ralf second so I'm hoping for a good start and that he'll be a good rear gunner for me. At the start however, on the entry to La Source, Michael drives straight into me (I'm not kidding!!) and in classic GP3 style sends my car rolling over and over again with wheels and wings flying everywhere. Michael meanwhile continued with no damage at all! He finished up in 3rd but the stewards (i.e. me) awarded him a 25 second penalty added to his race time, dropping him to 5 thus giving him only 2 points. So now it's 86 - 85 with three races to go.
Italy was a disaster - I was planning on a three stopper but lost a front wing early on, so switched to two stopper which just didn't work for me. After a very long, long race, I finished up 7th which was very frustrating, but at least team mate Ralf did the right thing by winning from his brother in second. 91-86 to Michael with two races to go.
So I'm down by 5 with two races remaining. Michael needs to win one and finish in the points in the other and he's claimed his fourth title. I really need to win both, given his consistency where he's only been off the podium once all year.
Off to Indy where I claim my 5th straight pole. Ralf's second while Michael's inexplicably qualified in 16th - by far his lowest grid slot for the year (I haven't played withe performance values I promise). A good start sees me still in the lead into Turn 1, Turn 2 and eventually the end of Lap 1 also. Ralf's right behind me, and we work a lead of several seconds over the rest of the field up to the first stops. Things are looking good - Ralf is a comforatble 3-4 seconds behind me, and everyone else a further 7 or 8 behind that. Then the happiest message I've seen flash upon the screen - 'Michael Schumacher is out of the race.' Transmission apparently, so now it's just a matter of cruising to the finish. Job done, me in 1st, Ralf in second.
96-91 to me with one race to go. Just finish in front of him anywhere and the title's mine!
The last race is in Japan again. My sixth straight pole, and Ralf again starting from second. Michael's starting from third so the run to the first corner will be interesting. I get a great get away, but Michael passes his brother so the battle is on! My lead increases a few tenths each lap, until I'm about 3 and half seconds in front, with Ralf being chased by Rubens another 3 or 4 behind that. And then another brilliant message flashes up on the screen 'Michael Schumacher is out of the race.' I can't believe my luck. That's the championship settled, I don't even need to finish. Michael had not finished lower than 5th all year, he'd won 3 races during the year but for whatever reason he couldn't finish the final two leaving me to take the wins and the championship!
I claimed 9 wins, 12 poles, 11 fastest laps, 106 points to win the Driver's Championship. Ralf had 4 wins, 2 poles, 1 fastest lap and 89 poitns to take 3rd in the Drivers and for Williams to take the Constructors.
In true Williams style though, once I'd won the world championship I was no longer needed. Toyota swooped (and offered a stupid amount of money
), so for 2003 and 2004 and I'm going to be trying to give Toyota their first win. I'll let you all know how I go!
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