My GP4 2000 championship season!
Posted by Ashers
Currently i am doing the 2000 season, ace difficulty, 25% races, i am driving Marc Genes Minardi though he is renamed to me so its my Minardi:p.
Race roundup:
Albert Park
First qualifying session of the season and the Minardi showed early signs of being highly uncompetitive, first time i set in the Fondmetal powered macine was a dismal 1'33.xxx. But as the session progressed the track and seemingly the car got faster, eventually pumping out a 1.29.xxx to take a good looking 15th place. Team mate Mazzacane starts from the back with Barrichello and Button on the front row.
The race got off to a good start, coming out of turn 3 i was in 11th, the Minardi excellling off the starting grid. throughout lap 2, 3 and 4 i was locked in battle with Fisichella, he was less than half a second behind me for all 3 laps, i had to make many a blocking move and drive my hardest, but in the end the more powerful Benetton prevailed as he sped past into turn 1. This caught me by suprise and i took to the grass but managed to recover quickly, i did lose 2 more places down to 14th however. This was short lived, on lap 6 yellow flags were being waved going into the clark chicane, through the chicane on the left i could see a jaguar and a sauber in the gravel, some slight debris on the road but both cars would rejoin. I was behind a Prost on lap 7 coming up to the same point, i tried to make a move on the inside but he blocked me off ,i tappped him and spun round onto the grass, i let oncoming traffic go through and i thought i had enough time to spin around, but blam! i didnt and got rear ended by a Prost, this consequently took me out of the race.
Interlagos
A damp qualifying kicked this weekend off, the circuit wasnt wet enough for inters so slicks it was, this provided trouble in a few turns which were more damp than others, including Pinherinho. i struggled around and eventually snatched a 1.13.4 to take 17th place on the grid, Mazzacane took 19th while MS was sitting pretty on pole.
The race would be a short affair for me and my Minardi, i got a good start into turn 1 moving up 2 places but then losing 1 in turn 2. On the straight the Minardis lack of pace showed greatly as other cars stormed up behind me. lap 1 went without incident and lap 2 started ok, through the Senna S nicely, albeit with Diniz in his Sauber hot on my heels, on the straight i could see him in my mirrors, he looked to far back to make a move into turn 3 but he tried anyway, he went for the inside, locked his brakes but didnt make it, he hit the side of my car which sent the front of his car into the air, he came back down still pushing the side of my car which sent my car into a barrell roll into the gravel trap, the car rolling 4-5 times before coming to a hault on all 4 wheels facing the circuit. Race over.
Imola
I didnt get any satisfactory practice runs in as it was wet so qualifying was hit or miss, after struggling with some turns initially i finally got a reasonable lap out of the Minardi, attacked the kurbs did help although i didnt attack al of them, mainly the ones which had been spitting me out all through the session. My time was good enough only to take 20th.
The race was dry like qualifying and i had a good start once again, moving up 3 before turn 5, Wurz overtook me on the exit with his more powerful Benetton thus placing me 18th, i stayed here for a few laps but then on turn 5, i spun on the exit, facing the oncoming traffic heading out of the hairpin i took a risk and spun the car round, luckily missing everyone, except Heidfled, the rookie Prost driver clipped my front wing and knocked it off, i was to pit at the end of the lap. I was ahead of Heidfeld into the pits but i needed more work, he got out ahead of me and this was the last i would see of any car. On lap 8 my race went from bad to over as i spun the car at Tamburello making a hard impact with the tyre wall. For the 3rd time in a row i was walking back to the pits.
Silverstone
Qualifying was a tricky affair, Silverstone is a high speed circuit, the Minardi, is not a high speed car, so anything would do. in the end i turned in a 1'23.xxx to start from 17th on the grid. The 2 Schumachers on the front row.
The race got off to a perfect start, i moved up into 15th and by the time i hit hangar straight i was in 14th. The Jaguars were battling in front of me, i got ahead of Herbert on the entry to club after i took a risk and broke late locking up the front left, but it was a risk worth taking as i moved into 13th. On lap 2 going round to farm yellow flags were out, it became clear why on the way through the chicane, MS and Coulthard had got tangled up and spun off, they would rejoin but would have to wait for the traffic to go through first. So starting lap 3 i was 11th. Throughout the next few laps I would have to battle the advances of Herbert who was trying everything to get through, but on lap 5 it looked as though he succeeded, going around the outside of Stowe he moved into 11th but i outbroke him once more into Club and took it straight back. Then he got back at me in Priory, but he tried to make a foolish move through Brooklands, he tapped the side of my car which spun him round into the gravel, my car had a wobble but didnt lose any time. It seemed plain sailing from then, Alesi was trying his hardest to get through but just couldnt quite make it, he then got sidetracked into a battle with Coulthard allowing me to open a gap, however on lap 11 Coulthard got past Alesi and closed the gap quicker than you could imagine, i held him off for a lap but then i spun on the exit of Luffield dropping to 15th place, i got back into 14th past a benetton on hangar straight but then on lap 13 i spun again, this time going through becketts, i avoided the wall though and rejoined the circuit in 19th place, ahead of Zonta and Mazzacane though they were nowhere to be seen. I finished 19th which was disappointing but my first finish of the season. Barrichello won with Button a close 2nd.
Barcelona
Qualifying was a very good session this time round, i was first out and first to set a lap time, it put me provisional pole for about 15 seconds.
I did a further few runs but with no improvement, seemingly not managing to be able to put a fully perfect lap together, until there was about 5 minutes to go. I went out on circuit, clear track ahead and behind and set to work, careful warm up lap built me up for the flyer. My god what a flyer it was, everything came together perfectly and ended up just 9 tenths off of Buttons pole time in 8th place.
The race would eventually prove to be not as succesful as qualifying. Got off to an average start, though the Minardi launched well again i lost my 8th to Frentzen and then dropped to 10th on the same lap, Zonta the one claiming 9th. for the next few laps it was a intense battle between me and Sauber driver Mika Salo, overtaking eachother mostly through turns 1, 2 and 3. Eventually Salo lost out to Villeneuve but did make a last gasp effort up the inside of both Villeneuve and me for 10th but was unsuccesful. On lap 7 however trouble struck, coming off of turn 7 my car suddenly started slowing down, i lost all power and pulled over to the side of the road. Later it turned out to be a combination of gearbox and engine failure which caused the retirement.
Nurburgring
Qualifying was hot sunny and tough, my lack of experiance on this circuit meant the other drivers had a distinct advantage, this showed in my early runs as i was well of the pace, eventually i managed to muster up a fairly decent lap to take 17th on the grid.
The race looked grim, black clouds, rain and a treacherously wet circuit, my first taste of racing in the wet was about to be upon me. the lights went out and the car slipped around looking for grip off the line eventually finding some, i movd to 16th off the start and was 15th by the end of the lap after Herberts Jaguar spun at the chicane. The laps that followed were tough, the rain got heavier and the track harder to drive on, a series of spins saw me drop back to 21st place and then i was caught up by Herbert thus dropping me to last. Everything was going ok i was enroute to a finish until suddenly the warning lights on the steering wheel were all flashing at me, as they were at Catalunya, the result was also the same, retirment, this time a transmission failure seeing my car roll to a hault at the side of the road.
Monte Carlo
Qualifying proved tricky, wet conditions and fairly deep water in places making it very hard to keep the car facing the direction you wanted. On my first run i spun at Tabac with Heidfeld and Button following me closely, result? a small 3 car crash. Early runs were slow, with 6 minutes to go i was P20, i decided to have one more crack and a good decision it was too:D Despite an Arrows providing some difficulty with added spray and causing me to slow down a bit more than normal in the last 2 turns i put in a quick lap and took 14th on the grid.
Raceday, track was dry but there was some spits of rain, blue skys though and it wasnt forecast to rain hard so dry softs it was. Got a good start which has become characteristic of the M02 now and moved into 11th prior to turn 1, then going into Mirabeu, to my suprise and probably to everyone elses i outbroke the Ferrari of Barrichello and moved into 10th. Feeling confident and rather smug i gave chase to MS, who dissappeared..soo i sat tight in 10th, then disaster struck, in an almost identical incident to one that happened in Friday practice i clipped a wall and took off my front left wheel, result from that impact came a spin which took off my front right making it impossible to get back to the pits. Another retirement. In other news my 2001 contract has been confirmed with a team that shall remain anonymous.
Montreal
Qualifying was cloudy but warm, the track was warm after previous championships did their qualifying sessions. After a good practice session was optimistic for qualifying, my first run was perfect and slotted me in at 4th halfway through the session. The eventually dropped down to 11th fastest so i went out with about 7 minutes to go for one last crack, made a slight mistake at the hairpin but it was good enough to send me up to 8th for the start of the race.
The clouds had cleared up from Saturday and it was sunny all around, blue skies as far as the eye can see. I got a good start but didnt move up or down and stayed 8th for most of the lap, on the straight towards the end of the lap however i got into Trullis slipstream and disposed og him. With only Mclarens, Ferraris and Williams in front of me i sat back and drove my race carefully in 7th. A bit too carefully though, Trulli managed to squeeze back past me on lap 8 and so i gave chase once more. He proved to not be so easy this time though and we were battling for a fair few laps. We would have carried on battling but with 2 laps to go my car suddenly dipped at the back and spun going into turn 3, i tried to keep it going unaware that i had actually got a rear right puncture, i couldnt continue and had to retire.
Magny-Cours
An average qualifying session, had some pretty annoying spins in the first chicane, the car didnt feel hooked up to the track, i managed to scrape a 1'14.xxx to take 17th.
A good start saw me take 16th into turn 1, i stayed there through turn 2 and towards 3, i anticipated a lot happening in the hairpin and it did, sllowing me to take advantage and take 12th place. I was running strong keeping up with the cars ahead but a couple of mistakes meant they got away. A number of retirments happened, 2 right in front of my eyes. First off Jarno Trulli went flying off the road at Estoril and slammed into the barriers. Johnny Herbert had an engine failure ahead of me sending me blind into some turns. Another incident i didnt see involved Diniz and Coulthard who seemingly hit eachother at the exit of Imola thus ending their race. I had a close run in with Villeneuve coming away from adelaide, side by side and we touched sending my car up on 2 wheels and into a spin but i saved it and continued only to have a suspension failure the following lap putting me in the barriers at Chateu Deau.
A1-Ring
Dry qualifying, i was first to hit the picturesque circuit. A series of average runs saw me 16th most of the session. Halfway through it started looking up, putting in some fast sectors but not getting a perfect lap until near the end. I did get a perfect lap, i would have been up in 5th for the start of the race but my times were deleted and i was disqualified from qualifying for using my 12th lap as a flying lap. D'oh!
From the back of the grid my task was huge, get a good finish. I jumped up 2 immediately from the start ahead of Heidfelds Prost and my team mate Mazzacane. I took another 3 cars through and out of turn 1 after a few tangled and went wide. My pace from the end of qualifying came back and i was catching cars up and dumping them behind me easily. I moved into 15th before the halfway point taking on Fisichella's Benetton. I the made a great move on Wurz on lap 11 on the outside of the fast turn 5. 14th seemed pretty good for a result but there was more, i overtook another few drivers, including Alesi who crashed out moving me into 11th with 3 to go, Irvines car looking distant. I managed to close the gap on him but he kept closing the door on me and i struggled to find a way past, eventually diving up the inside of the tight turn 2 to take 10th. 9th was out of sight and so i finished the final lap and finished the race in 10th! YAY I FINISHED!
Hockenheim
Coming into this weekend i was worried about the engine reliability, its a very high speed circuit which can kill unreliable engines. But that aside, sunny weather was a sign that qualifying would also be very sunny for me After a couple of feeder laps i decided to go for it and racked out 8th quickest at the session halfway mark. A couple more runs omproved only slightly but, as seems usual with me my last run stunned everyone, this time though i would not be disqualified for using my 12th run it was my 11th , either way it put me 5th on the grid.
The race was going to be a good and bad affair. I got a good start although everyone ahead of me did too, well, they were Mclarens Ferrari and Williams Trulli managed to sneak past me at the start but i got him back on the first long straight. Into the chicane i had Clouthard firmly locked in my sights, coming out of the chicane he went wide onto the grass giving me my chance to shoot past, being the gentleman i did just that, this moved me into 3rd after disposing of Barrichello when he went wide at turn 1. Coulthard was close for a lap, he tried to make moves but couldnt make it past. Lap 3 he got into my slipstream on the first long straight, i saw him move to the inside and under braking he shot past me into the chicane, of course his line wasnt the best and i managed a faster exit, in his slipstream my Minardi engine whined as it was pushed to its limit, i pulled out and came alongside him, 2nd chicane dawing on us quickly, still side by side we both hit our brakes at identical times, i held my inside line as he tried to go round the outside, but to no avai, he went to wide and had to back off. I stayed in 3rd for most of the race, the Williams' were too far ahead of me to do anything so i held my pace and went for the finish. On the penultimate lap Villenevue and Trulli caught up with me and we fought for the lap but then on the last lap, as Villeneuve was making a move on me down the first long straight we touched, sending my car hurtling into the barriers, his car into the other barriers and Truuli helpless to do anything plowed into the back of my car, race over with less than 5km to go.
Hungaroring
After the speed of Hockenheim comes the go kart like Hungaroring. Qualifying wasnt going to be easy, torrential rain plagued the session. The circuit was almost flooding and everyone found it hard to keep the cars under control for a whole lap. 15 seconds seperated 1st from 22nd. I was to start 19th, 9 seconds off the pace.
The sun came out for the race which was a nice sight, dry track with a sunny forecast. I got a good start moving up to 14th before turn 1 and up to 12th coming out of turn 2. Afer that my race went sharply downhill, the Minardi just not hooking up to the track, huge lack of grip everywhere, i had a small coming together with Villeneuve which resulted in both of us pitting in and dropping us to last, he was ahead of me and i still couldnt find a rythem. Barrichello retired and in the end i finished 21st.
Spa-Francorchamps
A dry weekend in store and lots of fun to be had. Qualifying was a fast paced affair with plenty of incidents, 5 cars had crashes and there was a high speed crash involving 2 cars at Eau Rouge. My session went without incident, apart from 1 small spin at the bus stop chicane. My consistent runs saw me take 14th on the grid.
The race got off to a clean start, only 1 casaulty at turn 1, Jarno Trulli, he spun around on the exit but would continue. i Moved into 11th place and gave chase to Irvine who was 3 seconds up the road, i got away from Alesi and continued chasing Irvine. My team mate had an accident at Rivage and was put out of the race. I closed the gap to Irvine down to about 1 second going into lap 5, i caught up more round La source and i was confident i would get past him before Eau Rouge, but it wasnt to be, i got pushed out by Irvine, our cars touched sending my car hurtling into the barriers at 180mph backwards, my car slammed the wall and rebounded back onto the circuit where Wurz was helpless and smashed into the side of my car pushing my car over the crest and his car into the wall on the right. Our races were over. But we were not the only ones. 5 cars finished and Pedro De La Rosa won in his Arrows followed by a damaged Williams driven by Button.
Monza
Good weather for qualifying and with Ferrari being faviroutes. i was out to spoil their party as it was also Minardis home race. Plenty of good runs to choose from but in the end it was a 1.24'6 that saw me take 6th place on the grid alongside Jenson Button.
Good weather stayed for the race, a good starting position for myself meant i could take some valuble points for Minardi. The race started and the minardi got off fairly well, the Jordan of Trulli coming alongisde but i managed to hold him off through the first turn. Coming out of the first turn i was faster than button but he wasnt going to give up his line so i moved to the outside and we were neck and neck into the 2nd chicane, he had to give way and let me through otherwise we would have taken eachother out. I started chasing coulthard but he was too fast for me. I was running 4th as me and Button had disposed of Hakkinen one after the other. Buttons presence put me under pressure but i didnt let it get to me. Starting lap 6 Hakkinen and Button were side by side into turn 1 and Hakkinen shot past Button and me into turn 1, i got back past by getting alongside Hakkinen in a simalair to what i did with button on lap 1, Hakkinen gave way into the chicane and i took 4th back. Button then moved past Hakkinen on lap 7 and at the same time past me. I gave chase to Button, consistantly staying about half a second behind him, my heart was racing as we start the last lap, i was getting close but couldnt quite capitalise, then going through Variente Ascari i lost control on a kurb and spun round, i regained control of the car and rejoined in 11th palce where i finished behind Zonta.
Indianapolis
Qualifying was wet, but i managed to fnid good grip all around the circuit. While others struggled, i went on to take a suprise 5th place on the grid in a relatively quiet session.
I got an average start or the dry race, moving into 4th. But this would soon disappear as i got involved in an incident at turn 3 which resulted in me pitting to fix some damage. I dropped to last but was soon joined by Wurz who pitted a few laps after me. Disaster struck however on lap 7 when i got a puncture during the ferocious turn 13, my car catapulted backwards into the barrier, slammed the wall and flew through the air backwards, landing hard and going into a barrell roll, Wurz missing narrowly. The car was a devastating wreck and a horrible reminder of a huge accident.
Suzuka
Suzuka would be the first wet weekend, we have had wet quali and wet races but not both. Qualifying was tough, i was struggling to find grip ad was sliding around a lot as a result. I barely got any clean laps but managed to get 20th on the grid.
The race wasnt as wet as qualifying so i could get more speed through the turns, i was running 14th by the end of lap one but into turn 1 i clipped the back of Zonta taking half my wing off. I pitted and dropped to dead last. I stayed there until about lap 13 where i caught up team mate Mazzacane and took 21st. Towards the end the rain got harder and the track slippier, this showed as i spun coming out of the 130r, luckily avoiding the barriers. I still finished although i did come last, which was 13th due to a high volume of retirements in the last 5 laps.
Sepang
A miserable qualifying session at Sepang, black clouds and rain kicked off the session. Most of the drivers including me struggling to find any sort of grip on the road. Through the session however the track started drying, i very vagure dry line started appearing and drivers went to dry tyres, ddespite this i could only managed 21st quickest.
The race would get much better, i moved up to 14th in lap 1 but on lap 2 i spun and was hit by Alesi. I pitted and fixed the damage but fell to last. I tried hard to rescue something from the race but ended up spinning on the fast exit of turn 5 and hitting a wall hard ending my race and ending my first season in F1 on a low.
Silverstone pics:
Barcelona pics:
Nurburgring pics:
Monte Carlo pics:
Magny-Cours pics:
(Trulli)
(Herbert)
Monza pic:
(Sorry for the poor quality pics)
Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2006 03:39PM by Ashers.
Race roundup:
Albert Park
First qualifying session of the season and the Minardi showed early signs of being highly uncompetitive, first time i set in the Fondmetal powered macine was a dismal 1'33.xxx. But as the session progressed the track and seemingly the car got faster, eventually pumping out a 1.29.xxx to take a good looking 15th place. Team mate Mazzacane starts from the back with Barrichello and Button on the front row.
The race got off to a good start, coming out of turn 3 i was in 11th, the Minardi excellling off the starting grid. throughout lap 2, 3 and 4 i was locked in battle with Fisichella, he was less than half a second behind me for all 3 laps, i had to make many a blocking move and drive my hardest, but in the end the more powerful Benetton prevailed as he sped past into turn 1. This caught me by suprise and i took to the grass but managed to recover quickly, i did lose 2 more places down to 14th however. This was short lived, on lap 6 yellow flags were being waved going into the clark chicane, through the chicane on the left i could see a jaguar and a sauber in the gravel, some slight debris on the road but both cars would rejoin. I was behind a Prost on lap 7 coming up to the same point, i tried to make a move on the inside but he blocked me off ,i tappped him and spun round onto the grass, i let oncoming traffic go through and i thought i had enough time to spin around, but blam! i didnt and got rear ended by a Prost, this consequently took me out of the race.
Interlagos
A damp qualifying kicked this weekend off, the circuit wasnt wet enough for inters so slicks it was, this provided trouble in a few turns which were more damp than others, including Pinherinho. i struggled around and eventually snatched a 1.13.4 to take 17th place on the grid, Mazzacane took 19th while MS was sitting pretty on pole.
The race would be a short affair for me and my Minardi, i got a good start into turn 1 moving up 2 places but then losing 1 in turn 2. On the straight the Minardis lack of pace showed greatly as other cars stormed up behind me. lap 1 went without incident and lap 2 started ok, through the Senna S nicely, albeit with Diniz in his Sauber hot on my heels, on the straight i could see him in my mirrors, he looked to far back to make a move into turn 3 but he tried anyway, he went for the inside, locked his brakes but didnt make it, he hit the side of my car which sent the front of his car into the air, he came back down still pushing the side of my car which sent my car into a barrell roll into the gravel trap, the car rolling 4-5 times before coming to a hault on all 4 wheels facing the circuit. Race over.
Imola
I didnt get any satisfactory practice runs in as it was wet so qualifying was hit or miss, after struggling with some turns initially i finally got a reasonable lap out of the Minardi, attacked the kurbs did help although i didnt attack al of them, mainly the ones which had been spitting me out all through the session. My time was good enough only to take 20th.
The race was dry like qualifying and i had a good start once again, moving up 3 before turn 5, Wurz overtook me on the exit with his more powerful Benetton thus placing me 18th, i stayed here for a few laps but then on turn 5, i spun on the exit, facing the oncoming traffic heading out of the hairpin i took a risk and spun the car round, luckily missing everyone, except Heidfled, the rookie Prost driver clipped my front wing and knocked it off, i was to pit at the end of the lap. I was ahead of Heidfeld into the pits but i needed more work, he got out ahead of me and this was the last i would see of any car. On lap 8 my race went from bad to over as i spun the car at Tamburello making a hard impact with the tyre wall. For the 3rd time in a row i was walking back to the pits.
Silverstone
Qualifying was a tricky affair, Silverstone is a high speed circuit, the Minardi, is not a high speed car, so anything would do. in the end i turned in a 1'23.xxx to start from 17th on the grid. The 2 Schumachers on the front row.
The race got off to a perfect start, i moved up into 15th and by the time i hit hangar straight i was in 14th. The Jaguars were battling in front of me, i got ahead of Herbert on the entry to club after i took a risk and broke late locking up the front left, but it was a risk worth taking as i moved into 13th. On lap 2 going round to farm yellow flags were out, it became clear why on the way through the chicane, MS and Coulthard had got tangled up and spun off, they would rejoin but would have to wait for the traffic to go through first. So starting lap 3 i was 11th. Throughout the next few laps I would have to battle the advances of Herbert who was trying everything to get through, but on lap 5 it looked as though he succeeded, going around the outside of Stowe he moved into 11th but i outbroke him once more into Club and took it straight back. Then he got back at me in Priory, but he tried to make a foolish move through Brooklands, he tapped the side of my car which spun him round into the gravel, my car had a wobble but didnt lose any time. It seemed plain sailing from then, Alesi was trying his hardest to get through but just couldnt quite make it, he then got sidetracked into a battle with Coulthard allowing me to open a gap, however on lap 11 Coulthard got past Alesi and closed the gap quicker than you could imagine, i held him off for a lap but then i spun on the exit of Luffield dropping to 15th place, i got back into 14th past a benetton on hangar straight but then on lap 13 i spun again, this time going through becketts, i avoided the wall though and rejoined the circuit in 19th place, ahead of Zonta and Mazzacane though they were nowhere to be seen. I finished 19th which was disappointing but my first finish of the season. Barrichello won with Button a close 2nd.
Barcelona
Qualifying was a very good session this time round, i was first out and first to set a lap time, it put me provisional pole for about 15 seconds.
I did a further few runs but with no improvement, seemingly not managing to be able to put a fully perfect lap together, until there was about 5 minutes to go. I went out on circuit, clear track ahead and behind and set to work, careful warm up lap built me up for the flyer. My god what a flyer it was, everything came together perfectly and ended up just 9 tenths off of Buttons pole time in 8th place.
The race would eventually prove to be not as succesful as qualifying. Got off to an average start, though the Minardi launched well again i lost my 8th to Frentzen and then dropped to 10th on the same lap, Zonta the one claiming 9th. for the next few laps it was a intense battle between me and Sauber driver Mika Salo, overtaking eachother mostly through turns 1, 2 and 3. Eventually Salo lost out to Villeneuve but did make a last gasp effort up the inside of both Villeneuve and me for 10th but was unsuccesful. On lap 7 however trouble struck, coming off of turn 7 my car suddenly started slowing down, i lost all power and pulled over to the side of the road. Later it turned out to be a combination of gearbox and engine failure which caused the retirement.
Nurburgring
Qualifying was hot sunny and tough, my lack of experiance on this circuit meant the other drivers had a distinct advantage, this showed in my early runs as i was well of the pace, eventually i managed to muster up a fairly decent lap to take 17th on the grid.
The race looked grim, black clouds, rain and a treacherously wet circuit, my first taste of racing in the wet was about to be upon me. the lights went out and the car slipped around looking for grip off the line eventually finding some, i movd to 16th off the start and was 15th by the end of the lap after Herberts Jaguar spun at the chicane. The laps that followed were tough, the rain got heavier and the track harder to drive on, a series of spins saw me drop back to 21st place and then i was caught up by Herbert thus dropping me to last. Everything was going ok i was enroute to a finish until suddenly the warning lights on the steering wheel were all flashing at me, as they were at Catalunya, the result was also the same, retirment, this time a transmission failure seeing my car roll to a hault at the side of the road.
Monte Carlo
Qualifying proved tricky, wet conditions and fairly deep water in places making it very hard to keep the car facing the direction you wanted. On my first run i spun at Tabac with Heidfeld and Button following me closely, result? a small 3 car crash. Early runs were slow, with 6 minutes to go i was P20, i decided to have one more crack and a good decision it was too:D Despite an Arrows providing some difficulty with added spray and causing me to slow down a bit more than normal in the last 2 turns i put in a quick lap and took 14th on the grid.
Raceday, track was dry but there was some spits of rain, blue skys though and it wasnt forecast to rain hard so dry softs it was. Got a good start which has become characteristic of the M02 now and moved into 11th prior to turn 1, then going into Mirabeu, to my suprise and probably to everyone elses i outbroke the Ferrari of Barrichello and moved into 10th. Feeling confident and rather smug i gave chase to MS, who dissappeared..soo i sat tight in 10th, then disaster struck, in an almost identical incident to one that happened in Friday practice i clipped a wall and took off my front left wheel, result from that impact came a spin which took off my front right making it impossible to get back to the pits. Another retirement. In other news my 2001 contract has been confirmed with a team that shall remain anonymous.
Montreal
Qualifying was cloudy but warm, the track was warm after previous championships did their qualifying sessions. After a good practice session was optimistic for qualifying, my first run was perfect and slotted me in at 4th halfway through the session. The eventually dropped down to 11th fastest so i went out with about 7 minutes to go for one last crack, made a slight mistake at the hairpin but it was good enough to send me up to 8th for the start of the race.
The clouds had cleared up from Saturday and it was sunny all around, blue skies as far as the eye can see. I got a good start but didnt move up or down and stayed 8th for most of the lap, on the straight towards the end of the lap however i got into Trullis slipstream and disposed og him. With only Mclarens, Ferraris and Williams in front of me i sat back and drove my race carefully in 7th. A bit too carefully though, Trulli managed to squeeze back past me on lap 8 and so i gave chase once more. He proved to not be so easy this time though and we were battling for a fair few laps. We would have carried on battling but with 2 laps to go my car suddenly dipped at the back and spun going into turn 3, i tried to keep it going unaware that i had actually got a rear right puncture, i couldnt continue and had to retire.
Magny-Cours
An average qualifying session, had some pretty annoying spins in the first chicane, the car didnt feel hooked up to the track, i managed to scrape a 1'14.xxx to take 17th.
A good start saw me take 16th into turn 1, i stayed there through turn 2 and towards 3, i anticipated a lot happening in the hairpin and it did, sllowing me to take advantage and take 12th place. I was running strong keeping up with the cars ahead but a couple of mistakes meant they got away. A number of retirments happened, 2 right in front of my eyes. First off Jarno Trulli went flying off the road at Estoril and slammed into the barriers. Johnny Herbert had an engine failure ahead of me sending me blind into some turns. Another incident i didnt see involved Diniz and Coulthard who seemingly hit eachother at the exit of Imola thus ending their race. I had a close run in with Villeneuve coming away from adelaide, side by side and we touched sending my car up on 2 wheels and into a spin but i saved it and continued only to have a suspension failure the following lap putting me in the barriers at Chateu Deau.
A1-Ring
Dry qualifying, i was first to hit the picturesque circuit. A series of average runs saw me 16th most of the session. Halfway through it started looking up, putting in some fast sectors but not getting a perfect lap until near the end. I did get a perfect lap, i would have been up in 5th for the start of the race but my times were deleted and i was disqualified from qualifying for using my 12th lap as a flying lap. D'oh!
From the back of the grid my task was huge, get a good finish. I jumped up 2 immediately from the start ahead of Heidfelds Prost and my team mate Mazzacane. I took another 3 cars through and out of turn 1 after a few tangled and went wide. My pace from the end of qualifying came back and i was catching cars up and dumping them behind me easily. I moved into 15th before the halfway point taking on Fisichella's Benetton. I the made a great move on Wurz on lap 11 on the outside of the fast turn 5. 14th seemed pretty good for a result but there was more, i overtook another few drivers, including Alesi who crashed out moving me into 11th with 3 to go, Irvines car looking distant. I managed to close the gap on him but he kept closing the door on me and i struggled to find a way past, eventually diving up the inside of the tight turn 2 to take 10th. 9th was out of sight and so i finished the final lap and finished the race in 10th! YAY I FINISHED!
Hockenheim
Coming into this weekend i was worried about the engine reliability, its a very high speed circuit which can kill unreliable engines. But that aside, sunny weather was a sign that qualifying would also be very sunny for me After a couple of feeder laps i decided to go for it and racked out 8th quickest at the session halfway mark. A couple more runs omproved only slightly but, as seems usual with me my last run stunned everyone, this time though i would not be disqualified for using my 12th run it was my 11th , either way it put me 5th on the grid.
The race was going to be a good and bad affair. I got a good start although everyone ahead of me did too, well, they were Mclarens Ferrari and Williams Trulli managed to sneak past me at the start but i got him back on the first long straight. Into the chicane i had Clouthard firmly locked in my sights, coming out of the chicane he went wide onto the grass giving me my chance to shoot past, being the gentleman i did just that, this moved me into 3rd after disposing of Barrichello when he went wide at turn 1. Coulthard was close for a lap, he tried to make moves but couldnt make it past. Lap 3 he got into my slipstream on the first long straight, i saw him move to the inside and under braking he shot past me into the chicane, of course his line wasnt the best and i managed a faster exit, in his slipstream my Minardi engine whined as it was pushed to its limit, i pulled out and came alongside him, 2nd chicane dawing on us quickly, still side by side we both hit our brakes at identical times, i held my inside line as he tried to go round the outside, but to no avai, he went to wide and had to back off. I stayed in 3rd for most of the race, the Williams' were too far ahead of me to do anything so i held my pace and went for the finish. On the penultimate lap Villenevue and Trulli caught up with me and we fought for the lap but then on the last lap, as Villeneuve was making a move on me down the first long straight we touched, sending my car hurtling into the barriers, his car into the other barriers and Truuli helpless to do anything plowed into the back of my car, race over with less than 5km to go.
Hungaroring
After the speed of Hockenheim comes the go kart like Hungaroring. Qualifying wasnt going to be easy, torrential rain plagued the session. The circuit was almost flooding and everyone found it hard to keep the cars under control for a whole lap. 15 seconds seperated 1st from 22nd. I was to start 19th, 9 seconds off the pace.
The sun came out for the race which was a nice sight, dry track with a sunny forecast. I got a good start moving up to 14th before turn 1 and up to 12th coming out of turn 2. Afer that my race went sharply downhill, the Minardi just not hooking up to the track, huge lack of grip everywhere, i had a small coming together with Villeneuve which resulted in both of us pitting in and dropping us to last, he was ahead of me and i still couldnt find a rythem. Barrichello retired and in the end i finished 21st.
Spa-Francorchamps
A dry weekend in store and lots of fun to be had. Qualifying was a fast paced affair with plenty of incidents, 5 cars had crashes and there was a high speed crash involving 2 cars at Eau Rouge. My session went without incident, apart from 1 small spin at the bus stop chicane. My consistent runs saw me take 14th on the grid.
The race got off to a clean start, only 1 casaulty at turn 1, Jarno Trulli, he spun around on the exit but would continue. i Moved into 11th place and gave chase to Irvine who was 3 seconds up the road, i got away from Alesi and continued chasing Irvine. My team mate had an accident at Rivage and was put out of the race. I closed the gap to Irvine down to about 1 second going into lap 5, i caught up more round La source and i was confident i would get past him before Eau Rouge, but it wasnt to be, i got pushed out by Irvine, our cars touched sending my car hurtling into the barriers at 180mph backwards, my car slammed the wall and rebounded back onto the circuit where Wurz was helpless and smashed into the side of my car pushing my car over the crest and his car into the wall on the right. Our races were over. But we were not the only ones. 5 cars finished and Pedro De La Rosa won in his Arrows followed by a damaged Williams driven by Button.
Monza
Good weather for qualifying and with Ferrari being faviroutes. i was out to spoil their party as it was also Minardis home race. Plenty of good runs to choose from but in the end it was a 1.24'6 that saw me take 6th place on the grid alongside Jenson Button.
Good weather stayed for the race, a good starting position for myself meant i could take some valuble points for Minardi. The race started and the minardi got off fairly well, the Jordan of Trulli coming alongisde but i managed to hold him off through the first turn. Coming out of the first turn i was faster than button but he wasnt going to give up his line so i moved to the outside and we were neck and neck into the 2nd chicane, he had to give way and let me through otherwise we would have taken eachother out. I started chasing coulthard but he was too fast for me. I was running 4th as me and Button had disposed of Hakkinen one after the other. Buttons presence put me under pressure but i didnt let it get to me. Starting lap 6 Hakkinen and Button were side by side into turn 1 and Hakkinen shot past Button and me into turn 1, i got back past by getting alongside Hakkinen in a simalair to what i did with button on lap 1, Hakkinen gave way into the chicane and i took 4th back. Button then moved past Hakkinen on lap 7 and at the same time past me. I gave chase to Button, consistantly staying about half a second behind him, my heart was racing as we start the last lap, i was getting close but couldnt quite capitalise, then going through Variente Ascari i lost control on a kurb and spun round, i regained control of the car and rejoined in 11th palce where i finished behind Zonta.
Indianapolis
Qualifying was wet, but i managed to fnid good grip all around the circuit. While others struggled, i went on to take a suprise 5th place on the grid in a relatively quiet session.
I got an average start or the dry race, moving into 4th. But this would soon disappear as i got involved in an incident at turn 3 which resulted in me pitting to fix some damage. I dropped to last but was soon joined by Wurz who pitted a few laps after me. Disaster struck however on lap 7 when i got a puncture during the ferocious turn 13, my car catapulted backwards into the barrier, slammed the wall and flew through the air backwards, landing hard and going into a barrell roll, Wurz missing narrowly. The car was a devastating wreck and a horrible reminder of a huge accident.
Suzuka
Suzuka would be the first wet weekend, we have had wet quali and wet races but not both. Qualifying was tough, i was struggling to find grip ad was sliding around a lot as a result. I barely got any clean laps but managed to get 20th on the grid.
The race wasnt as wet as qualifying so i could get more speed through the turns, i was running 14th by the end of lap one but into turn 1 i clipped the back of Zonta taking half my wing off. I pitted and dropped to dead last. I stayed there until about lap 13 where i caught up team mate Mazzacane and took 21st. Towards the end the rain got harder and the track slippier, this showed as i spun coming out of the 130r, luckily avoiding the barriers. I still finished although i did come last, which was 13th due to a high volume of retirements in the last 5 laps.
Sepang
A miserable qualifying session at Sepang, black clouds and rain kicked off the session. Most of the drivers including me struggling to find any sort of grip on the road. Through the session however the track started drying, i very vagure dry line started appearing and drivers went to dry tyres, ddespite this i could only managed 21st quickest.
The race would get much better, i moved up to 14th in lap 1 but on lap 2 i spun and was hit by Alesi. I pitted and fixed the damage but fell to last. I tried hard to rescue something from the race but ended up spinning on the fast exit of turn 5 and hitting a wall hard ending my race and ending my first season in F1 on a low.
Silverstone pics:
Barcelona pics:
Nurburgring pics:
Monte Carlo pics:
Magny-Cours pics:
(Trulli)
(Herbert)
Monza pic:
(Sorry for the poor quality pics)
Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 11/29/2006 03:39PM by Ashers.
good readin mate, keep it up, lookin forward to reading the next instalment of your season
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Its Time For Some Old-Skool GP4 Fun Again
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love the story, get my hires silvy if your pc can handle it 
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Same as fisico04, looking forward for the next update.
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.Same as fisico04, looking forward for the next update
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Help keep our forums tidy.
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high resolution Silverstone 
Very nice read
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
"Trulli was slowing down like he wanted to have a picnic" LOL
i know how it is to loose the race in the last kilometers 
Great reading this!
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With a Minardi you've made the maximum...but what a bad luck for all the season!!
Nice thread, i felt like playing the 2000 mod also because of the stories here
Well, i am quite spoiled while playing the 2005/2006 mods, because of the tremendous amound of grip, it's really difficult now to play the 2000 mod (without TC ofcourse)and lot less grip. Sliding in corners is lot of fun though
But i do love that season, but one thing i changed were the tyres, because the default tyres on that mod are even worse than the default gp4 2001 tyres (or the same)
But i do love that season, but one thing i changed were the tyres, because the default tyres on that mod are even worse than the default gp4 2001 tyres (or the same
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