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I don't think Schumacher looked too happy about it either and it was a nice gesture to let him stand in the No. 1 position on the podium.
It makes a mockery of the sport, the best man didn't win.
In Australia Coulthard and Hakkinen had a pre-race aggreement after dominant qualifying that whoever led into the first corner would be allowed to win. Hakkinen was first into the first corner and led most of the race. There was then a misunderstanding over the radio and Hakkinen came into the pits and Coulthard went ahead. In the dying laps Hakkinen sped round the track, Coulthard let him through for the win. A lot of fuss was made from this but no punishment was given out as it was a genuine mistake.
However Jean Todt did interfere with the result which in my opinion is not fair. Irvine always used to let Schumacher before but he didn't need telling as it was in his contract and everyone knew it. Origianlly Barrichello was signed as a no. 1b driver as opposed to a no. 2 driver but now he seems to be a firm number 2. The difference with Irvine was for the most part he was never in a race winning position when Ferrari were clearly the best car. It's a very unsatisfactory ending to see the winner decided in that manner but in Austria 2001 no one seemed to mind when it was for 2nd and 3rd although to be fair it was Montoya's fault Schumacher was behind Barrichello.
It's a complicated situation which is hard to define and therefore had to make rules for and exact punishments. Let's just hope the FIA gats it right.
Anyone remember Jerez '97, or Austrailia '98. DC let Hakkinen through at both races. One of them was the first bloody race of the season!
Yes it has got a lot of attention but only because its a bad thing. I am an F1 fan and many of my mates are, but I know lots of people giving up on watching the sport because of these types of things taking place.
But at the end of the day, tean orders are going to take place. They could have told the drivers to make it look like a normal overtaking move. They could have said to Barrichello, just lock up and run wide in turn one to let Schumi through.
That would have had exactly the same effect, but we would have been sitting here talking about how Baarichello lost it under the pressure of the Great Schumacher. But it would have been just as fake.
As for the point about Barrichello could leave Ferrari - where would he go? There isn't another top drive available.
The Sato-Heidfeld crash was a freak accident as it's not normal to spin like that under breaking. It was most likely a combination of relatively cold brakes and Heidfeld braking hard in reaction to Yoong locking his brakes leading to a brake disc failure. Another cause could have been a suspension failure after Massa's suspension failure.
Whatever the cause I doubt Sato will race in Monaco as even a mild concussion like Frentzen had last year can put him out of a race. This could lead to Alesi driving and possibly scoring points at his favoutite track.
Imagine people who put bets on Rubens winning, they must feel cheated...
I for one can't believe that this kind of thing is allowed in a race like this. Its the ferrari team are making a mockery out of Rubens, who deserves better than that.
Get out of there Rubens, your talents are being wasted.
Take football for example. Money is ruining the game, with ITV digital's collapse putting immense pressure on lower division teams; many of which have had to release players and some could and will have to fold, it's disgusting. Yesterday I watched Arsenal field an 'under strength' side battle it out in an excellent match against Everton. Henry could have had a hatrick or more, but unselfishly set up Francis Jeffers on numerous occasions who finally put one away - I think that's fantastic, because Arsenal are a team of top players who respect each other. Back to Formula 1...
Barrichello qualifies in pole position, I think only his 5th ever pole, leads the race throughout - one of the best races I've seen him in, only for Ferrari to instruct him to move over for Schumacher to pick up the points and claim the glory. It was evident that Schumacher wasn't overly impressed, Rubens was literally in tears, but Ferrari's Ross Braun says the decision was in the interests of pushing for the driver's championship.
Just 6 races into the season. It disgusts me. If I were Rubens I would have switched the radio off and proceeded to win the race - a race which in everyone's mind, he did win. You saw and heard the booing and whistling from the crowd - it's just not on. Barrichello is an excellent driver and I'm sure he could be capable of mounting a championship challenge, and I think he could win it, but with Ferrari there's only ever going to be one number one driver and it really does suck big time.
What do you reckon 2002's Austrian Grand Prix will be remembered for - being one of the most entertaining so far, or for being the most corrupt and damaging the sport? It just demeans the sport, demeans the entire grand prix. Most people are fed up of Schumacher winning in the first place, but at least he deserves to win 99% of the time, but for something like this to be allowed to happen is plainly wrong.
Maybe it's time for the rules to be changed, I don't know.
What's the point in watching any more Grand Prix when there'll be a pre-determined result? Don't get me wrong, Schumacher is the model professional, in the past he's been completely out of order in barging Villeneuve and Hill off the track, but he's an excellent racing driver and sportsman. So is Rubens Barrichello. So why does this happen?
Gives the sport a bad name and loses many fans, I hope that something like this will never happen again.
Rubens - respect to you my friend.
Cheers