Last year's
Italian GP review
Practice was a close-run affair, with Williams, McLaren and Renault
and BAR all mixing it with Ferrari. In qualifying though, Rubens
Barrichello proved unbeatable, with Juan Pablo Montoya squeezing
ahead of Schumacher to prevent an all-scarlet front row.
With race day came the unexpected - rain. Though the track was
rapidly drying by the time the cars took to the grid, there was
still a tyre dilemma - intermediates or dries. Most went for the
latter, but poleman Barrichello opted for the former. It was a
decision he quickly regretted. Despite seizing the lead at the
start he was struggling within a handful of laps and was forced to
make an unscheduled stop, handing the lead to Fernando Alonso and
then Jenson Button.
But the Brazilians misfortune was nothing compared to his team
mate's. Michael Schumacher made contact with Button at the second
chicane on lap one, spun, and dropped to 15th. His fight back
through the field was impressive. Both he and Barrichello found
pace that simply decimated the opposition. It allowed Barrichello
to regain, and keep, the lead, despite his extra stop, and
Schumacher to move all the way back to second by the flag. Button,
who had genuinely looked set for his and BARs maiden win, was
unable to respond and had to be content with yet another podium.
Alonsos hopes ended when he spun into the gravel 13 laps from
home, while early contender Montoya was hampered by an engine
management glitch which left him fifth behind the BAR of Takuma
Sato.
Despite Ferraris dominance, it was a very good day for BAR. Their
11-point haul, coupled with Renaults failure to score, lifted them
into second place in the constructors championship. It was not
such a good day for Gianmaria Bruni. The Minardi driver was caught
in the midst of a dramatic pit lane fire and was forced to retire
from his home race. Fortunately it looked much worse than it was,
and the Italian was unhurt.
