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The past seven years I have spent much time watching Formula 1. I'm not sure what's so enticing about it, but it's something I just can't resist. It could be the sleek, beautiful cars, or the amazing speed at which they go at. Maybe it's the massive crashes (without injury though), or perhaps it's the tactical side of things-pit stops, reliability, letting people through etc. In my opinion, it's a mixture of all these.
But there's one more reason. When I started watching in 1995, I was only 7, and I liked the colour red. So, I supported Ferrari. Back then they were unimpressive and it was frustrating when Benetton and Williams dominated. In 1996 Williams were the only team in it, but, Micheal Schumacher did win a couple of times I believe. Over the next few years I watched almost every qualifying session and every race, cheering on Schumacher and Eddie Irvine. Unfortunately, thanks to firstly Jacques Villeneuve in the Williams, and then to Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren, World Championship success still evaded Jean Todt's men.
Around 2 years ago, in 1999, Mike was looking for his third title in a row. However, Schumacher and his friends had other ideas. Ferrari zoomed their way to both the Constructors and the Drivers Championship. I was overjoyed, but was sad to see Eddie Irvine go. He was replaced by Rubens Barrichello, and I have now grown to like the small Brazilian. There was more glory for Ferrari, but then, I found out about another team.
I read a book on all the teams ever involved in Formula 1 and came across the minnows Minardi. I had of course heard of them, but because they were always at the back of the field I never really got a glimpse of their car, or their drivers. I became interested and found out more about them, and last year had enough info to write a decent topic on them. {:) Because of this, I was desperate to see Minardi get a point. A point for Ferrari was nothing, they always wanted the full 10. I was extremely disappointed in 1999 when Luca Badoer drove his way (or fluked his way) to an amazing 5th place in his silver Minardi. With just a few laps to go, his car unusually broke down (although it may surprise you to know, Minardi has been associated with decent reliability over the past couple of years) and he was left crying at the side of the track.
In 2001, despite some excellent performances from driver Alonso, Minardi failed to win a point.
The European Minardi is owned by Australian Paul Stoddart, and because of lack of success he's had to put millions of his own money into the team. They've had to race with the worst engines and no TV time. This of course meant sponsors weren't keen to sign with them, because the car was never seen! The only decent sponsorship usually came with the drivers, such as this year thanks to Alex Yoong. Stoddart even bought a Boeing 747 out of his own money to fly his cars to the races.
As last season came to a close, Minardi were struggling. Points meant money, but they could get none. Stoddart was confident though, and promised they would make it to the 2002 season. Thankfully, they did, but they were still ignored. They came into this year with two relatively new drivers; Alex Yoong, had only driven twice before I believe and Mike Webber, the Australian who was imported from F3000. On friday night/saturday morning the qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix took place, Webber managing a decent 18th in front of the Jaguars and Yoong ended up 21st. The race took place last night, and what an amazing and awesome race it was.
The race started like a dream for Minardi. The only advantage at qualifying near the back was that they managed to miss a lot of the first-corner crashes that regularly took place in F1, and the same happened today. Ralf Schumacher of the Williams smashed into Barrichello's leading Ferrari, taking them both out. Thanks to this, carnage was wreaked behind them, with a lot of the mid-runners having to retire. Both Saubers crashed out, Button in the Renault was involved, Kimi Raikonnen's Mclaren suffered, the Arrows didn't even start the formation lap (although they did manage to compete) and many more. As the first lap was completed, only 12 drivers were left, two of them being the Minardi's in 7th and 8th. These positions were already extremely high for the team, but luck was set to go their way.
Jarno Trulli span out from 2nd, David Coulthard had to retire, Sato had problems, the Arrows who managed to get themselves into the race were disqualified, and as the race neared the end Webber, the Australian hero, was in an awesome 5th place with his teammate Yoong just behind. However, Yoong was passed by the faster Salo in his Toyota, and with just 5 laps to go Salo and Webber battled it out. Salo had more experience and the better car, but to the crowd's and my delight, Salo made a small mistake to let Webber pull away. Webber, in the European Minardi, finished in a glorious 5th position, gaining 2 points for the joyous Minardi team. And because it was the Australian GP, there wad much more TV time for them. They had all the attention, and even got a chance to celebrate on the podium. Minardi had 2 points. It may not sound like much, but it's massive for Minardi. Yoong was unluckly to finish out of the points, but 7th is an excellent accomplishment too.
This was a great race for me-Schumacher won in the Ferrari, and of course Minardi got those brilliant positions. A buzz will surround F1 for a few weeks now, the fact that this tiny team overcame all the odds, and with a bit of luck on the way managed to achieve the supposedly unachievable. This is another wonderful high for the biggest motor racing championship in the World, and you never know, maybe Minardi can gain some more of those precious points this year. This ranks along some all-time great moments for me, even higher than the interview with Mclaren boss Ron Dennis after he lost last year's Championship. Great stuff.
Thanks for reading, Ant.
But there's one more reason. When I started watching in 1995, I was only 7, and I liked the colour red. So, I supported Ferrari. Back then they were unimpressive and it was frustrating when Benetton and Williams dominated. In 1996 Williams were the only team in it, but, Micheal Schumacher did win a couple of times I believe. Over the next few years I watched almost every qualifying session and every race, cheering on Schumacher and Eddie Irvine. Unfortunately, thanks to firstly Jacques Villeneuve in the Williams, and then to Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren, World Championship success still evaded Jean Todt's men.
Around 2 years ago, in 1999, Mike was looking for his third title in a row. However, Schumacher and his friends had other ideas. Ferrari zoomed their way to both the Constructors and the Drivers Championship. I was overjoyed, but was sad to see Eddie Irvine go. He was replaced by Rubens Barrichello, and I have now grown to like the small Brazilian. There was more glory for Ferrari, but then, I found out about another team.
I read a book on all the teams ever involved in Formula 1 and came across the minnows Minardi. I had of course heard of them, but because they were always at the back of the field I never really got a glimpse of their car, or their drivers. I became interested and found out more about them, and last year had enough info to write a decent topic on them. {:) Because of this, I was desperate to see Minardi get a point. A point for Ferrari was nothing, they always wanted the full 10. I was extremely disappointed in 1999 when Luca Badoer drove his way (or fluked his way) to an amazing 5th place in his silver Minardi. With just a few laps to go, his car unusually broke down (although it may surprise you to know, Minardi has been associated with decent reliability over the past couple of years) and he was left crying at the side of the track.
In 2001, despite some excellent performances from driver Alonso, Minardi failed to win a point.
The European Minardi is owned by Australian Paul Stoddart, and because of lack of success he's had to put millions of his own money into the team. They've had to race with the worst engines and no TV time. This of course meant sponsors weren't keen to sign with them, because the car was never seen! The only decent sponsorship usually came with the drivers, such as this year thanks to Alex Yoong. Stoddart even bought a Boeing 747 out of his own money to fly his cars to the races.
As last season came to a close, Minardi were struggling. Points meant money, but they could get none. Stoddart was confident though, and promised they would make it to the 2002 season. Thankfully, they did, but they were still ignored. They came into this year with two relatively new drivers; Alex Yoong, had only driven twice before I believe and Mike Webber, the Australian who was imported from F3000. On friday night/saturday morning the qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix took place, Webber managing a decent 18th in front of the Jaguars and Yoong ended up 21st. The race took place last night, and what an amazing and awesome race it was.
The race started like a dream for Minardi. The only advantage at qualifying near the back was that they managed to miss a lot of the first-corner crashes that regularly took place in F1, and the same happened today. Ralf Schumacher of the Williams smashed into Barrichello's leading Ferrari, taking them both out. Thanks to this, carnage was wreaked behind them, with a lot of the mid-runners having to retire. Both Saubers crashed out, Button in the Renault was involved, Kimi Raikonnen's Mclaren suffered, the Arrows didn't even start the formation lap (although they did manage to compete) and many more. As the first lap was completed, only 12 drivers were left, two of them being the Minardi's in 7th and 8th. These positions were already extremely high for the team, but luck was set to go their way.
Jarno Trulli span out from 2nd, David Coulthard had to retire, Sato had problems, the Arrows who managed to get themselves into the race were disqualified, and as the race neared the end Webber, the Australian hero, was in an awesome 5th place with his teammate Yoong just behind. However, Yoong was passed by the faster Salo in his Toyota, and with just 5 laps to go Salo and Webber battled it out. Salo had more experience and the better car, but to the crowd's and my delight, Salo made a small mistake to let Webber pull away. Webber, in the European Minardi, finished in a glorious 5th position, gaining 2 points for the joyous Minardi team. And because it was the Australian GP, there wad much more TV time for them. They had all the attention, and even got a chance to celebrate on the podium. Minardi had 2 points. It may not sound like much, but it's massive for Minardi. Yoong was unluckly to finish out of the points, but 7th is an excellent accomplishment too.
This was a great race for me-Schumacher won in the Ferrari, and of course Minardi got those brilliant positions. A buzz will surround F1 for a few weeks now, the fact that this tiny team overcame all the odds, and with a bit of luck on the way managed to achieve the supposedly unachievable. This is another wonderful high for the biggest motor racing championship in the World, and you never know, maybe Minardi can gain some more of those precious points this year. This ranks along some all-time great moments for me, even higher than the interview with Mclaren boss Ron Dennis after he lost last year's Championship. Great stuff.
Thanks for reading, Ant.
Page:
The past seven years I have spent much time watching Formula 1. I'm not sure what's so enticing about it, but it's something I just can't resist. It could be the sleek, beautiful cars, or the amazing speed at which they go at. Maybe it's the massive crashes (without injury though), or perhaps it's the tactical side of things-pit stops, reliability, letting people through etc. In my opinion, it's a mixture of all these.
But there's one more reason. When I started watching in 1995, I was only 7, and I liked the colour red. So, I supported Ferrari. Back then they were unimpressive and it was frustrating when Benetton and Williams dominated. In 1996 Williams were the only team in it, but, Micheal Schumacher did win a couple of times I believe. Over the next few years I watched almost every qualifying session and every race, cheering on Schumacher and Eddie Irvine. Unfortunately, thanks to firstly Jacques Villeneuve in the Williams, and then to Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren, World Championship success still evaded Jean Todt's men.
Around 2 years ago, in 1999, Mike was looking for his third title in a row. However, Schumacher and his friends had other ideas. Ferrari zoomed their way to both the Constructors and the Drivers Championship. I was overjoyed, but was sad to see Eddie Irvine go. He was replaced by Rubens Barrichello, and I have now grown to like the small Brazilian. There was more glory for Ferrari, but then, I found out about another team.
I read a book on all the teams ever involved in Formula 1 and came across the minnows Minardi. I had of course heard of them, but because they were always at the back of the field I never really got a glimpse of their car, or their drivers. I became interested and found out more about them, and last year had enough info to write a decent topic on them. {:) Because of this, I was desperate to see Minardi get a point. A point for Ferrari was nothing, they always wanted the full 10. I was extremely disappointed in 1999 when Luca Badoer drove his way (or fluked his way) to an amazing 5th place in his silver Minardi. With just a few laps to go, his car unusually broke down (although it may surprise you to know, Minardi has been associated with decent reliability over the past couple of years) and he was left crying at the side of the track.
In 2001, despite some excellent performances from driver Alonso, Minardi failed to win a point.
The European Minardi is owned by Australian Paul Stoddart, and because of lack of success he's had to put millions of his own money into the team. They've had to race with the worst engines and no TV time. This of course meant sponsors weren't keen to sign with them, because the car was never seen! The only decent sponsorship usually came with the drivers, such as this year thanks to Alex Yoong. Stoddart even bought a Boeing 747 out of his own money to fly his cars to the races.
As last season came to a close, Minardi were struggling. Points meant money, but they could get none. Stoddart was confident though, and promised they would make it to the 2002 season. Thankfully, they did, but they were still ignored. They came into this year with two relatively new drivers; Alex Yoong, had only driven twice before I believe and Mike Webber, the Australian who was imported from F3000. On friday night/saturday morning the qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix took place, Webber managing a decent 18th in front of the Jaguars and Yoong ended up 21st. The race took place last night, and what an amazing and awesome race it was.
The race started like a dream for Minardi. The only advantage at qualifying near the back was that they managed to miss a lot of the first-corner crashes that regularly took place in F1, and the same happened today. Ralf Schumacher of the Williams smashed into Barrichello's leading Ferrari, taking them both out. Thanks to this, carnage was wreaked behind them, with a lot of the mid-runners having to retire. Both Saubers crashed out, Button in the Renault was involved, Kimi Raikonnen's Mclaren suffered, the Arrows didn't even start the formation lap (although they did manage to compete) and many more. As the first lap was completed, only 12 drivers were left, two of them being the Minardi's in 7th and 8th. These positions were already extremely high for the team, but luck was set to go their way.
Jarno Trulli span out from 2nd, David Coulthard had to retire, Sato had problems, the Arrows who managed to get themselves into the race were disqualified, and as the race neared the end Webber, the Australian hero, was in an awesome 5th place with his teammate Yoong just behind. However, Yoong was passed by the faster Salo in his Toyota, and with just 5 laps to go Salo and Webber battled it out. Salo had more experience and the better car, but to the crowd's and my delight, Salo made a small mistake to let Webber pull away. Webber, in the European Minardi, finished in a glorious 5th position, gaining 2 points for the joyous Minardi team. And because it was the Australian GP, there wad much more TV time for them. They had all the attention, and even got a chance to celebrate on the podium. Minardi had 2 points. It may not sound like much, but it's massive for Minardi. Yoong was unluckly to finish out of the points, but 7th is an excellent accomplishment too.
This was a great race for me-Schumacher won in the Ferrari, and of course Minardi got those brilliant positions. A buzz will surround F1 for a few weeks now, the fact that this tiny team overcame all the odds, and with a bit of luck on the way managed to achieve the supposedly unachievable. This is another wonderful high for the biggest motor racing championship in the World, and you never know, maybe Minardi can gain some more of those precious points this year. This ranks along some all-time great moments for me, even higher than the interview with Mclaren boss Ron Dennis after he lost last year's Championship. Great stuff.
Thanks for reading, Ant.
But there's one more reason. When I started watching in 1995, I was only 7, and I liked the colour red. So, I supported Ferrari. Back then they were unimpressive and it was frustrating when Benetton and Williams dominated. In 1996 Williams were the only team in it, but, Micheal Schumacher did win a couple of times I believe. Over the next few years I watched almost every qualifying session and every race, cheering on Schumacher and Eddie Irvine. Unfortunately, thanks to firstly Jacques Villeneuve in the Williams, and then to Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren, World Championship success still evaded Jean Todt's men.
Around 2 years ago, in 1999, Mike was looking for his third title in a row. However, Schumacher and his friends had other ideas. Ferrari zoomed their way to both the Constructors and the Drivers Championship. I was overjoyed, but was sad to see Eddie Irvine go. He was replaced by Rubens Barrichello, and I have now grown to like the small Brazilian. There was more glory for Ferrari, but then, I found out about another team.
I read a book on all the teams ever involved in Formula 1 and came across the minnows Minardi. I had of course heard of them, but because they were always at the back of the field I never really got a glimpse of their car, or their drivers. I became interested and found out more about them, and last year had enough info to write a decent topic on them. {:) Because of this, I was desperate to see Minardi get a point. A point for Ferrari was nothing, they always wanted the full 10. I was extremely disappointed in 1999 when Luca Badoer drove his way (or fluked his way) to an amazing 5th place in his silver Minardi. With just a few laps to go, his car unusually broke down (although it may surprise you to know, Minardi has been associated with decent reliability over the past couple of years) and he was left crying at the side of the track.
In 2001, despite some excellent performances from driver Alonso, Minardi failed to win a point.
The European Minardi is owned by Australian Paul Stoddart, and because of lack of success he's had to put millions of his own money into the team. They've had to race with the worst engines and no TV time. This of course meant sponsors weren't keen to sign with them, because the car was never seen! The only decent sponsorship usually came with the drivers, such as this year thanks to Alex Yoong. Stoddart even bought a Boeing 747 out of his own money to fly his cars to the races.
As last season came to a close, Minardi were struggling. Points meant money, but they could get none. Stoddart was confident though, and promised they would make it to the 2002 season. Thankfully, they did, but they were still ignored. They came into this year with two relatively new drivers; Alex Yoong, had only driven twice before I believe and Mike Webber, the Australian who was imported from F3000. On friday night/saturday morning the qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix took place, Webber managing a decent 18th in front of the Jaguars and Yoong ended up 21st. The race took place last night, and what an amazing and awesome race it was.
The race started like a dream for Minardi. The only advantage at qualifying near the back was that they managed to miss a lot of the first-corner crashes that regularly took place in F1, and the same happened today. Ralf Schumacher of the Williams smashed into Barrichello's leading Ferrari, taking them both out. Thanks to this, carnage was wreaked behind them, with a lot of the mid-runners having to retire. Both Saubers crashed out, Button in the Renault was involved, Kimi Raikonnen's Mclaren suffered, the Arrows didn't even start the formation lap (although they did manage to compete) and many more. As the first lap was completed, only 12 drivers were left, two of them being the Minardi's in 7th and 8th. These positions were already extremely high for the team, but luck was set to go their way.
Jarno Trulli span out from 2nd, David Coulthard had to retire, Sato had problems, the Arrows who managed to get themselves into the race were disqualified, and as the race neared the end Webber, the Australian hero, was in an awesome 5th place with his teammate Yoong just behind. However, Yoong was passed by the faster Salo in his Toyota, and with just 5 laps to go Salo and Webber battled it out. Salo had more experience and the better car, but to the crowd's and my delight, Salo made a small mistake to let Webber pull away. Webber, in the European Minardi, finished in a glorious 5th position, gaining 2 points for the joyous Minardi team. And because it was the Australian GP, there wad much more TV time for them. They had all the attention, and even got a chance to celebrate on the podium. Minardi had 2 points. It may not sound like much, but it's massive for Minardi. Yoong was unluckly to finish out of the points, but 7th is an excellent accomplishment too.
This was a great race for me-Schumacher won in the Ferrari, and of course Minardi got those brilliant positions. A buzz will surround F1 for a few weeks now, the fact that this tiny team overcame all the odds, and with a bit of luck on the way managed to achieve the supposedly unachievable. This is another wonderful high for the biggest motor racing championship in the World, and you never know, maybe Minardi can gain some more of those precious points this year. This ranks along some all-time great moments for me, even higher than the interview with Mclaren boss Ron Dennis after he lost last year's Championship. Great stuff.
Thanks for reading, Ant.
Page: