Chinese Grand Prix Review

It could not do justice to confine this review to the race itself, for in the larger scheme of things, the action on the track was quite inconsequential compared to what was happening off it. The lead-up to Shanghai started in the days after Monza, when Renault and Jarno Trulli filed for immediate divorce. Everyone knew that the relationship between the Italian and his team had sunk to inexplicable depths, but no one was quite expecting them to burn their bridges quite so quickly.

Still, the news came as something of a relief, for it was hard to imagine how their mutual disaffection could plummet much further. But Flavio Briatore had another surprise up his sleeve: Jacques Villeneuve would test the R24, and unless he did something disastrous it was a fait accompli that he would take Trulli's seat. Briatore had first chased the ex-world champion's signature back in the middle of 2000, and he had finally got his man - even if only for three races.

There was some superficial irony in all this. One of the unspoken reasons for Trulli's sacking was that his inability to score points in five races had hurt Renault's chances of 2nd in the constructors' title in their battle with BAR. Who better to replace Jarno than a man who would like nothing more than to put one over David Richards and co, a.k.a. a certain J. Villeneuve? Jacques and Flav tried to make mileage out of this to the press, but it seemed forced. The son of Gilles was simply glad to be back behind the wheel.

Maybe the 'Ferrari B-team' factor had something to do with it, and the possibility of emulating his father and taking over Michael Schumacher's seat all rolled into one. But I wouldn't hold my breath. That kind of thinking worked wonders for Giancarlo Fisichella this year, didn't it? Was it just me, or did I miss the "Fisi tests for Ferrari" headline? Seriously, if Jacques was that desperate to race in F1 again, we're quite sure Minardi would love to have his services ...

Meanwhile, the worst-kept secret in F1 since the Webber-to-Williams move finally came out, when it was revealed that Trulli had in fact signed for Toyota around the time of his falling out with Renault at Magny-Cours. Changing colours (including his helmet) faster than a political backflip, Jarno starting testing for the red and whites at once, but the question was, why wouldn't he race for them as well? A bit of unexplained logic from Tsutomo Tomita and friends.

Especially since it's now been revealed that he will race - in Ricardo Zonta's car in Japan, but in Olivier Panis' machine in Brazil, as the Toyota game of five-drivers-into-three-seats musical chairs continues. By contrast, perhaps the most uncontroversial changes was at Jordan, where tester Timo Glock, who had impressed on his race debut in Canada, finally usurped the hugely disappointing Giorgio Pantano, who is currently a hot favourite for our 'Reject of the Year' title.

On top of all that came the ultimate bombshell: that Ford was pulling out of Formula 1 and putting Jaguar and Cosworth up for sale. In hindsight, Ford's investment was clearly untenable given their closure of the Jaguar road car factory, but on the back of rumours of increased investment in F1, and perhaps even a Ford works team in 2005, the news came as an almighty shock. But it was not quite the signs of the last days as some were quick to label it.

Formula 1 is placed somewhat precariously, and it depends on whether or not anyone buys Cosworth, and if anyone buys Jaguar. Trouble is, everything depends on everything else at the moment. Take, for example, Christian Horner and Arden, who have expressed on-again, off-again interest in buying an F1 team. Whether or not they buy the remnants of Jaguar depend firstly on whether or not they can get an engine deal for 2005 - which seems firstly to depend on whether or not anyone purchases Cosworth.

It also depends on next year's regulations and the lessening of the prohibitive costs for prospective new team owners, which in turn depends on whether or not the FIA and the teams can agree on anything - even the time of day - which also depends on how well Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone can tread the ultra-fine line between exerting their authority, looking after their own interests (especially Bernie's financial interests in Formula One Management), and negotiating with the carmakers and the GPWC.

The brinkmanship is incredible. There are endless permutations of what will happen to costs, to the 2005 rules, to three-car teams next year, to the survival of Jordan, Minardi, Cosworth and ex-Jaguar, depending on who blinks first. Like it or not, F1 is at something of a crossroads. The issues involving costs, and returns for the participants, are coming to a head. So too the power struggle between the self-interested carmakers, the self-interested commercial stakeholders, and the self-interested FIA powers-that-be.

But as if it wasn't clear enough that the sport of Formula One was moving away from its heart and soul in deference to commercial exigencies, comes the news that the British GP is, finally, facing the axe for 2005, and maybe the French GP as well. Two races which, along with Monaco, Italy, Germany and Belgium, represent the tradition of F1. For once, Ecclestone may not be able to seamlessly satisfy everyone. The sacrifice of Silverstone to the great god Money will prove a universally unpopular decision.

At the same time, F1 faced the future in Shanghai, with its awesome facilities that surpassed, if that were possible, those in Bahrain and Malaysia. What of the track itself? On paper it looked adventurous, and indeed it presented its two or three passing opportunities, but one couldn't help but feel as though Hermann Tilke could have done more with it. For example, the much-vaunted first two 'snail' corners proved rather tame, without the one-mistake-and-you're-off danger that it posed in theory.

The last turn could have been made much faster, into something like the 130R kink at Suzuka. But perhaps the most disappointing feature was the middle sector, consisting mainly of two completely unchallenging sweepers. Why couldn't Tilke have conjured up a series of high-speed esses instead, for example like at Silverstone or Suzuka? The politically-correct were naturally singing the praises of the new layout, but Martin Brundle criticised it as being overly technical, and one could see his point.

But a brave new world this was, and some were hyperbolising it as 'the most important Grand Prix ever'. The Chinese turned out in substantial numbers, but if F1 couldn't pull a crowd from 1.2 billion people, then it would be in trouble. Sponsors were putting Chinese script on cars; we didn't see any Arabic in Bahrain. And the embarrassingly ignorant journalists came out in droves, asking the World Champion such questions as whether his car was red because it was a lucky colour. Welcome to China.

The Brazilian had won back-to-back once previously, in Italy and the USA in 2002, but given the farcical circumstances of that Indianapolis victory this was his first real two-in-a-row, and completed the formality of sealing the runner-up position in the drivers' championship. Nevertheless, one gets the impression, as you always seem to do with Rubens, that he hasn't done anything particularly special in these two races, that if Michael was on top of his game then he probably wouldn't stand atop the podium.

It was a close finish in the end, a few seconds covering Barrichello, the 555-adorned Jenson Button in 2nd, and Kimi Raikkonen in 3rd, but it hadn't been that exciting a race. It just went to show that a two-stop strategy, as in the BAR's case, or a three-stop strategy, in the case of the Ferrari and McLaren, equated to roughly the same race time. Given BAR's consistently high level of performance throughout the weekend, it was not a surprise to see Jenson having the speed to mix it with Rubens and Kimi at the end.

However, even if Barrichello had emerged from his third stop behind Button, you get the impression that he would have found a way past the BAR at some stage. So it was yet another valiant effort from the Brackley team, but still not quite the earth-shattering race-winning performance they've been threatening. Kudos though to Takuma Sato, whose dedicated drive from the back of the grid on a one-stopper earned him a fine 6th place that all but cements BAR for 2nd in the constructors' title.

Raikkonen and McLaren might have reason to feel frustrated. In terms of raw one-lap speed, Kimi was very good in Shanghai, extracting the kind of speed that an average Joe in the MP4/19B would not be able to attain. Still, the Finn never seemed to be in that kind of racy mood in which he could attack Barrichello or Button on the track, and conversely his pit stops were thwarted by being held up on pit entry on two out of three occasions by cars dawdling in with problems.

If Renault thought they could rebound and move on in the post-Trulli stage to reclaim 2nd in the manufacturers' title, they were to be disappointed. Fernando Alonso's drive to 4th was a lonely one, while Villeneuve never figured near the points at all, hanging around the edge of the top ten and eventually finishing a lapped 11th behind Mark Webber. Was this a case of 'Renault dodgy second car syndrome' or Jacques just taking time to get up to speed? Or both? Or is Villeneuve simply past it? The jury is still out.

The Renaults also figured prominently with the new radio feature on broadcasts, allowing viewers to hear selected snippets of radio communications. It's been a part of Australian V8 supercar coverage for a while, and it's always interesting, sometimes amusingly candid, so it was a welcome addition, and hopefully something that will continue in the future. But one hopes for the Renault drivers' sake that there isn't as much echoing and reverb through their earplugs as it sounded!

A quiet weekend for Williams, JPM making a poor start and eventually rising to 5th on a heavy-fuel strategy, and probably casting some longing glances at those silver cars in the garage next door. Ralf's return was a solid one, but after being tagged by Coulthard he pitted with a puncture, only for the team to make him wait while Montoya made his scheduled stop. A fair degree of irony there given what happened at Magny-Cours last year that drove Juan-Pablo towards McLaren.

By the time the team got to inspect Ralf's car for any damage, the German had already sulkingly got out and decided to retire. Although perhaps Williams could have handled the situation better, it did seem somewhat unprofessional on Ralf's part, leading to unfounded speculation that he might have been replaced again by Pizzonia for the last two races. The truth is, if Williams are to hold off McLaren for 4th in the constructors' title, they need both cars to be on the track to be in with a chance of scoring points.

REJECT OF THE RACE
Michael Schumacher
Mikey's talentless secret clone turned up in China

Not much to talk about down Jaguar way. Webber tried hard as usual - maybe a little too hard, given his major moment at turn 7 on his qualifying lap, which made for spectacular viewing but nothing else, and spent Sunday in the midfield without challenging for points. Christian Klien found learning the track difficult and showed poorly compared to his team-mate, and in the race he did unfortunately leave a gap wide open, virtually encouraging Schumacher to take him out if he was indeed going to slam the door shut.

On paper, there was nothing for Toyota to write home about either, but overall it had been a positive weekend. Ryan Briscoe impressed in Friday free practice, Panis qualified 8th, and Zonta ran in the points and probably would have scored some but for his retirement. Perhaps, finally, the Mike Gascoyne factor is bearing fruit with the updated TF104B model. With their plans in place for 2005, and Trulli already working with them, it looks like Toyota may be getting their act together at last.

It is amazing how little there has been to talk about in terms of Jordan this year. Both Nick Heidfeld and Glock came, saw, got lapped, and went home. Though Pantano previously was simply under-performing, Heidfeld has been doing a stable, unspectacular job all year, restricted by the limitations of the EJ14. To his credit, though, he has put in some sterling practice and qualifying performances, and to be 6th quickest in Saturday free practice and to start 14th ahead of Klien would be among his 2004 highlights.

In view of the Ford withdrawal, Minardi's plight attracted more-than-usual attention. The events leading up to Shanghai would have come not only as a source of despair to Paul Stoddart, but also an embarrassment, after he had trumpeted his deal to use the same full-spec Cosworths as Jaguar in 2005. Back to square one, then, and for a creative mind such as the Aussie's, that meant writing to the FIA and all the other teams asking for permission to compete in 2005 with their entire 2004 package, both chassis and engine.

There are some interesting possibilities here. Could this herald the start of a new 'class' in F1 races, for year-old cars based on previous regulations? Coupled to, say, a rule that teams must be willing to provide their 2004 cars to a customer team, plus a separate cup for independent teams running previous-generation cars, like there was a cup for non-turbo cars in 1987, and you could have a way of keeping independent teams afloat, giving them a return for their sponsors, and enticing new outfits to come on board.

All that was certainly more interesting once again than Minardi's efforts on the track. It was yet another difficult time for Zsolt Baumgartner and Gianmaria Bruni, the Hungarian particularly slow in qualifying and Bruni spinning off on his lap, confirming his place alongside Pantano as one of the underachievers of 2004. Gimmi then suffered the indignity of losing his front left wheel in the race and being forced to retire, a la Roberto Moreno in the Coloni in Canada in 1989.

And if "change" was the buzz word in F1 over the last three weeks, then look no further than the Reject of the Race for the Chinese GP: the 7-time World Champion, Michael Schumacher himself. An humiliating spin in qualifying, failure to make full use of starting from the pit lane by, for example, going for a one-stopper, a reckless move inside Klien, another mindless spin all on his own, topped by a puncture (not his fault), and finally finishing 12th, having been lapped by his team-mate. Change, indeed.

It was his lowest ever finishing position in a race, and the first time since 2001 that he has had two non-scoring races in a season. It was also his lowest ever start position, having never started from the pits before, and having on two previous occasions (Japan 1998 and Australia 1999) started from the back only after stalls on his original grid slot. Shanghai was the last place Michael would have wanted to stuff up so royally, in front of a captive, inquisitive new audience. Perhaps red wasn't so lucky in China after all.