Ferrari: The Passion and the Pain. Jane Nottage
Schumacher protects his colleagues who are in the firing line. His ability quickly to paste over any cracks in team loyalty was going to prove vital in the months to come.
There is a great family tradition in Italy and it spreads to every aspect of the Italian lifestyle. In Italy the football teams always spend the night before a match together, to build team spirit. The Ferrari team does the same. The night before everyone left for Imola, the drivers and management had dinner with Montezemolo, who impressed calm and optimism on them in equal quantities. By this stage Jean Todt had decided that the car would not be rebuilt, but that they would work on improving the aerodynamics. He said that there should be improvements by mid-season.
One of the improvements was seen a little before mid-season. The V10 engine had been consistent and good, but there was a new improved version due at Imola which proved to be reliable, although the top speed was still a little way off its competitors. However, doubts were pushed aside as Schumacher took his first pole position for Ferrari at Imola. He pushed Damon Hill off the number one spot in the closing moments of the session, before spinning to a halt with a broken left rear track rod as he turned into the Tamburello corner.
Jean Todt was very happy with the pole position. ‘This result has come from hard work and a combination of the improved aerodynamics, a more drivable engine and, of course, the power of Michael Schumacher.’
Giorgio Ascanelli was worried about the brakes rather than the engine. It had been decided that the new version of the brakes would not be run in the race, due to caution rather than any actual problem. After the second practice Ascanelli, wiping sweat from his furrowed brow said, ‘I’m not happy with the way things are going. I’m not worried about the race, but I am worried that the brakes won’t last the race.’ It was an observation borne out from long experience. Schumacher crossed the line in second place and his car ground to a halt as the brakes gave out.
Eddie Irvine finished fourth and for the first time both drivers were in the points. Things were looking up, although new modifications were still needed, not least with the clutch which was not proving reliable and led to the difficult starts that both drivers were experiencing.
None the less, Schumacher’s success entranced the Italian population. Over 10 million people watched the Grand Prix on television in Italy. That was a 55 per cent share of viewing figures and an absolute record for Formula One. There had been nothing like it since eight million people had watched Alain Prost when he drove for Ferrari in the Italian Grand Prix. It showed that people were once again believing in the prancing horse.
TIME TO PARTY?
THE MOOD WAS BUOYANT AND OPTIMISTIC
After Imola, the mood was buoyant and optimistic as the team set out for Monaco. Monaco is less about motor racing and more about parties. The motorhomes gather round the port area like colourful Lego kits at a children’s party. The big boats anchor out in the bay and the rich kids go to play in a big way.
Monaco may be a party town, but during a Grand Prix weekend it is impossible to escape the racing. Wherever you stand, the roar of the Formula One engines can be heard, and like Spa or Monza, but for different reasons, it is the one place where drivers want to win more than anywhere else. Ferrari, at least on paper, should have been in with a chance.
Schumacher’s race engineer, Ignazio Lunetta, was in an upbeat mood. The race engineer is the man closest to the driver. He cares only about helping his guy to win, even against his team-mate. It is a close and trusting relationship as the race engineer is the man who translates what the driver says into changes on the car. The quiet, unassuming Lunetta had worked with Jean Alesi before Michael Schumacher arrived at Ferrari, and he was finding Schumacher a very different cup of tea.
‘Schumacher is more in one line, he pushes a lot and he works very hard. Alesi was lazier whereas Schumacher is constantly stimulating work. The biggest problem is to get to know Schumacher. It is very important that I can read his thoughts and get to know exactly how he likes the car in various situations. At the moment I am doing the tests with him as well as the races. He understands things very quickly and works a lot, but he still needs to be guided as he is quite perplexed a lot of the time. However, I have never seen anyone as constantly quick as Schumacher.’
Like his team-mates, Lunetta was quietly confident about Monaco. ‘The engine is good, the aerodynamics have improved and the car is easier to drive. One of our biggest problems is the clutch which is difficult to control. A little movement and it over-reacts and creates wheelspin.’
Back in England, John Barnard was also optimistic. ‘The main thing I hope for is that Schumacher can qualify on the front somewhere and then he’ll have a good chance as it’s a very difficult track to pass on.’ Obligingly, Schumacher qualified on pole position. He outpaced Hill by half a second, an incredible feat on the tight Monégasque circuit. However, he shot himself in the foot by waving to the crowd before the qualifying session was completely over and Gerhard Berger, who was still on a quick lap, crashed into the back of the Ferrari. Schumacher later apologized to Berger for going too slow.
Having had two dry days of practice, it poured with rain on race day. Schumacher had a poor start and, while still on the first lap, made a mistake at the right hander after the Loews hairpin, getting half-way onto the inside kerb, then pushing the car into the guard-rail. It was all over hardly before it had hardly begun.
To his eternal credit, Schumacher took the blame full on the chin. He returned to the team garage and apologized to everyone. Lunetta says, ‘He came in looking like a beaten dog. He was devastated and said sorry to everyone. We forgave him. He gives such a lot, and he is only human; he has to make mistakes sometimes.’
Team Principal Jean Todt put it succinctly as he commented, ‘Michael accepts errors from others, but not from himself.’ Meanwhile Eddie Irvine had qualified seventh but had a disappointing race; he had been given an illegal push start by the marshals, then Mika Salo and Mika Hakkinen crashed into him, ending his race.
End of Monaco. Deep depression. It was quiet on the way home as everyone pondered what might have been, and wondered when the next good times would come along. However, there is nothing as contrary as Formula One and disaster can turn into victory in the space of a couple of weeks – and that was about to happen. Next stop was Barcelona and the drive of a lifetime.
CREATIVE ADVERTISING
Ferrari and Shell are a potent combination: power and passion allied to technical excellence. This message has been broadcast across the world with the help of some stunning advertising campaigns. One such advertisement, called ‘The pit stop’, features Eddie Irvine coming in for a change of tyres and refuelling, but instead of concentrating on the race, he wants to ensure he’s using Shell petrol because he is collecting the company’s model cars. Thirty million people collect these cars, and the two advertisements are seen by over a billion people in more than 100 countries worldwide.
ALL ABOARD FOR SPAIN
SCHUMACHER WAS IN A CLASS OF HIS OWN
To say it rains in Spain is like saying it snows in Switzerland. There is normal rain, and then there is Spanish rain which falls in torrents. King Juan Carlos turned up for the race and Schumacher took him for a spin round the track, pointing out the dangers of driving in the wet! From third position on the grid, Schumacher made a poor start (because of a temperamental clutch) and was briefly down to sixth before overtaking the hapless Hill, who’s race was about to end.
Then Schumacher took on Berger and Alesi. By the 12th lap, he had left the others behind, was out in front and in a class of his own. He pulled away from the others at a rate of four seconds a lap. It was awesome to see and put Schumacher firmly up there with the all-time greats. The most recent comparison had been Senna’s remarkable drive at the European Grand Prix at Donington in 1993.
Team-mate Eddie Irvine qualified sixth, but spun out of the race after one lap. It was a shame because