- 3 months ago
The season preview of the 2001 Formula 1 season.
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00:00In any sport, eras are defined by those at the top.
00:04The past three years, Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher have dominated Formula One.
00:08Each has won 17 races, and their teams, McLaren and Ferrari, have virtually shut out the opposition.
00:14But things may be about to change.
00:17Major manufacturers, BMW with Williams and Honda with Jordan and VAR,
00:22have shown that they may be able to run with McLaren and Ferrari.
00:26It's a new era about to begin.
00:30Hello again, everyone. I'm Bob Barsha.
00:46Welcome to this SpeedVision special preview of the upcoming Formula One season.
00:50David Hobbs and Sam Posey will be joining me a little later in the program
00:53as we show you all of the cars and drivers standing by in Melbourne, Australia
00:57to begin the 52nd season of the world's most glamorous, high-tech, and popular form of motorsport.
01:03First, let's talk about the technical changes to the cars for 2001, and here they are.
01:08The front and rear wings have been raised.
01:10Traction control is coming on board, but not until round five of the season in Spain,
01:14so we'll put that aside for a moment.
01:15And, of course, we will have a tire war as Michelin joins the series to do battle with Bridgestone.
01:21And joining me now, Steve Matchett, who's been to some of the new car introductions and tests across Europe.
01:26Steve, the first thing I have to ask is, how was the food?
01:29The food was very good, Bob.
01:31If there's one thing that Formula One does well for the journalists, the international meter, it's put on a good spread.
01:36And I'm sure that comes as no surprise to any Formula One fans.
01:38Now, let's talk about the cars.
01:40We'll begin with aerodynamics.
01:41New front and rear wings this year.
01:43What do you see unfolding?
01:45The FIA have come up with an idea of reducing the downforce on the cars.
01:49What they've wanted to do is take downforce off the cars,
01:51which should help the idea of drivers being able to pass more easily as opposed to doing it in the pit stops.
01:56Reducing the downforce on the front wing, lifting it 50 millimeters,
02:00reducing the overall effect of the downforce on the rear wing by taking it to three elements only at the top
02:05and one mounting element beneath.
02:07There have been lots of different ways that the aerodynamics have approached this problem.
02:10Ferrari have come up with a very high drooping nose with a high wing mainplane.
02:14McLaren have gone the opposite way.
02:16Very, very high nose on the car.
02:17It couldn't go any higher without actually lifting up at the front.
02:20Sauber have come up with a nice stylish wing.
02:22Benetton, a really straight block-sided thing.
02:25Very unusual looking approach from them.
02:26So it'll be interesting to see who has the solution that works.
02:29Now let's talk about rubber.
02:31The French Michelin Company comes on board to do battle with Bridgestone.
02:34How do you see that battle playing out?
02:36The biggest thing it's going to do is completely overrule anything that the FIA have done with downforce reduction.
02:41The tires will have huge benefits to the teams.
02:44They will grip like anything they've had before.
02:46They'll get a lot more performance.
02:48We're going to see lap times fall.
02:49In the off-season, in the winter testing, lap times have been falling.
02:52Circuit records have been broken almost every time the cars have been running.
02:55The cars will go much, much quicker.
02:57Now when traction control comes in in April, do you see that changing the solutions the teams arrive at up to that point?
03:03The teams are going to have to work on both things.
03:05They're going to have to work on electronics for the cars without traction control.
03:08They're going to have to work with electronics with traction control.
03:11There's going to be a lot of changes coming in April when we see that in Spain.
03:14Difficult to say how that's going to work out at the moment.
03:16And a lot of testing between races for all of these teams.
03:19So that's a look at what the technical boffins have had to deal with in this off-season.
03:23In a moment, we'll take a closer look at the entry list for the 2001 campaign.
03:27And we'll start at the sharp end, beginning with the teams we feel will be championship contenders.
03:32Stay with us.
03:35Welcome back.
03:36Now you don't have to be a Grand Prix geek like we are here at Speed Vision
03:39to figure out that this season shapes up as another battle between McLaren and Ferrari.
03:44We'll get to the teams that'll be trying to join that fight at the front.
03:47But first, a preview of the key championship contenders.
03:50At the January launch of the new Ferrari F2001 in Maranello,
03:58the most noticeable difference between last year's car
04:01and the one Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barichello will drive this year is at the front.
04:06Not only will the Ferrari carry the number one, signifying Schumacher's world championship,
04:10but the nose of the car has a dramatic downward slope.
04:14Speculation is that this new design is an effort to lower the car's center of gravity.
04:18If you say from the 2000 car, what would I ask a little bit more?
04:23I would ask for a little bit more traction.
04:25That's at the end of the tire stint.
04:29You would suffer a little bit.
04:31Traction should not be a problem this year
04:33with the reintroduction of electronic traction control.
04:36For his part, the world champion is in favor of such so-called driver aids.
04:41With the electronics, you can put the car even more to the limit,
04:44and not everybody can use that.
04:45I prefer it, honestly.
04:46I want the car consistently under the limit,
04:48and I like any electronics which give me that help.
04:52In testing, the F2001 has been quick.
04:56The new 050 engine is about 5 kilos, or 12 pounds, lighter than last year's power plant,
05:01and rumor has it that the V-angle is 120 degrees,
05:05which would make it the widest of any car to date.
05:07The car is handling very well.
05:09I'm very happy with the way it works.
05:12And not only that, it is so far quite reliable.
05:15I mean, we're doing plenty of laps, and we don't have any particular problems so far.
05:20In contrast to the Ferrari's sloped nose, the McLaren MP4-16 has one that is nearly straight.
05:31The front brake calipers are a little bit lower this year,
05:34which again would help with the center of gravity,
05:36while the exhaust chimneys haven't changed much from last year,
05:39which would indicate the use of the same harmonics valve.
05:42In testing, the McLaren was reasonably reliable for David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen,
05:51even though there was an embarrassing breakdown on the installation lap at the new car's press introduction.
05:56Normally, when you have new cars and you first roll out,
05:59there's all sorts of little technical problems,
06:00but in fact, this car, the MP4-16, did 50 laps in the first day, no problem,
06:0670 laps in the second day, which is a significant amount when you're testing,
06:09more than a Grand Prix.
06:10And I have to say, quietly confident as we do the final preparations and run down to Melbourne.
06:15As for Hakkinen, he's not done much testing this winter.
06:19Instead, the two-time champion chose to spend time with his new son, Hugo.
06:23I had a good opportunity to stay with my wife and my son,
06:27and just to enjoy the family life for a long time.
06:31And it definitely came with a lot of more positive energy for the new coming season,
06:35and really to stay relaxed at home next to the fireplace.
06:402001 will mark the seventh year of the McLaren-Mercedes partnership,
06:44a pairing that has produced two driver's titles and one constructor's championship.
06:49Kultart and Hakkinen have shared each of those seven seasons together, a Formula One record.
06:54Sam Posey joins me now.
06:56Sam, Michael Schumacher's title defense opened with an embarrassing crash on Friday in Australia.
07:00We'll show that to you in a moment, but he has to rate as the preseason championship favorite.
07:04He does, and he's on an awesome role, which is a pun when you see the incident involved.
07:10Sure, he's the favorite, but you cannot, at your peril, ignore Mika Hakkinen,
07:15because Hakkinen was very, very strong last year,
07:17and on the one-on-one confrontation with Schumacher at Spa, he came out the winner.
07:23How about their teammates?
07:24Rubens Bonichello at Ferrari picked up his first win last year.
07:27David Coulthard at McLaren must be under tremendous pressure.
07:29Yeah, but I think they're both committed to their number two roles.
07:33I really do.
07:34I don't think either of them is going to make a bid at the championship, and they both know that.
07:37I think they'll support the number ones, and they really won't be a factor in the championship.
07:41By team orders?
07:43I think by inference, yes.
07:46Let's talk about the cars.
07:47During the offseason, everyone talked about Ferrari's reliability,
07:50but except for those first two races last year, McLaren had tremendous reliability as well.
07:55After the first two, they went 15 straight races with only one breakdown.
07:59That was at the U.S. Grand Prix.
08:00It was an engine failure for Hakkinen.
08:02It took him out of the championship, but that was just one failure in 15 races.
08:05That's a terrific average, and I think it's a reason why Hakkinen is going to be tough this year.
08:10And why those first two races are going to be more important than ever.
08:13Than ever.
08:13Thank you, Sam.
08:14Now, will this be the year another team steps up to join McLaren and Ferrari in Formula One's upper echelon?
08:19After a break, the team that finished third in last year's Constructors' Championship
08:23will look at surprising Williams BMW at their driving pairing of Ralph Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya.
08:33Have returned to Grand Prix racing this year?
08:35Michelin will do battle with Bridgestone.
08:37Here's a look at who will be racing on what as we start the season.
08:40We've already talked about Ferrari and McLaren.
08:43They'll both be on Bridgestone rubber,
08:44although Prost, a Ferrari engine customer, will be on Michelin,
08:48along with Williams, Benetton, Jaguar, and Minardi.
08:51Now, last year, Williams BMW finished third in the Constructors' Championship.
08:56Not bad for a team with an engine partner in its first season back in Formula One.
09:00On the other hand, although Williams trailed only Ferrari and McLaren in the standings,
09:04they scored just 36 points, 116 fewer than McLaren, 134 behind Ferrari.
09:11After four championships in the 1990s, Williams has not won a race since the Grand Prix of Luxembourg more than three seasons ago.
09:23It's the longest winless streak in team history, and Sir Frank himself does not see it ending this year.
09:30Realistically speaking, probably not.
09:33Formula One is full of surprises, not full of miracles.
09:36There's a difference.
09:37Even before the first race of the season, there's been plenty of talk about the relationship between the two Williams drivers,
09:44incumbent Ralph Schumacher and newcomer Juan Pablo Montoya.
09:47It seems that some people think they won't get along.
09:50I don't suppose they'll get on marvelously, but that's not what's important.
09:54What's important is what they do on the track, and I think circumstances will be managed appropriately.
09:59We never had a real problem. It was all a bit overcommented and depressed, you know, and it is how it is between new teammates.
10:06It takes some time before you really, you know, start to get a good relationship, which we have, and that's all.
10:12I think as long as you don't have problems, you know, you don't have to be, you know, best mates.
10:16The design of the new Williams FW23 is essentially an evolution of the 2000 car,
10:21but the BMW engine in back of the new machine will be smaller, lighter, and with a V-angle of 90 degrees, more powerful.
10:29As for Montoya, the former Kart FedEx Series champion returns to the team where he served as a test driver in 1998.
10:37I really like the way we work in Europe.
10:39I think the way everything's gone with Williams so far, it's been really good, you know, working with BMW and Michelin as well.
10:45It's been, you know, it's been quite encouraging because you really learn a lot of stuff.
10:49You learn to understand more the car and learn to work with it more, so it's quite good.
10:58BAR Honda finished fifth in last year's championship with 20 points, the same number as Benetton, who were fourth due to higher finishes.
11:06This year, BAR will have the same Honda engines as the Jordan team,
11:09and while one might think that would lead to competition between the two teams powered by Honda,
11:15one team boss doesn't agree.
11:17I don't think that we are competing just against Jordan.
11:19I really see that we are competing now against Benetton, Williams, McLaren, and Ferrari.
11:24Jordan's there behind us. We've got to look forward.
11:27This year, Jacques Villeneuve will have Olivier Panis as a teammate.
11:31Panis tested and set up the McLaren so well last year that he's now returned to racing with a top team.
11:37Villeneuve won the championship in 1997 with 81 points,
11:41but has scored just 38 total points in the three years since.
11:45It's not because you win it once that you don't want to win anymore,
11:47but of course, once you've won it once, you've achieved something that you've been wanting to do.
11:52So it could be easy to lose the motivation, but don't worry, two years without results has helped to get the motivation back.
11:59Staying with a team that still has to prove it is probably more ambitious than going with a team that's already won it
12:06and that's going to win it for sure.
12:07No one's expecting too much.
12:13While there is optimism at Williams and BAR, there really aren't lofty goals being thrown around at Benetton.
12:19And I don't think the first few races you'll see us on the podium or qualifying in the first three,
12:24but we're looking more of a long term and I think towards the end of the season we can hopefully put off some good results.
12:31Jensen Button comes to Benetton from the Williams team, where he was impressive in 2000 despite a lack of experience.
12:38He joins Giancarlo Fisichella and the two drivers will have power from a factory-backed Renault engine.
12:44The 111-degree power plant has not been working very well in the back of the new Benetton chassis.
12:50The team spent many long days and nights trying to sort out their problems in time for the first race in Melbourne.
12:56I'm joined now by David Hobbs. David and you and I both know what can happen if you don't perform for Honda.
13:03Will that put BAR under great pressure?
13:05I think it's going to put them under tremendous pressure because Jordan, two years ago, were incredibly successful in Formula One,
13:10nearly stole the championship away from McLaren.
13:12And I think that with the factory engine, the Honda engine in that car, they're going to be very successful this year too.
13:17And it's going to put a lot of pressure on BAR.
13:19They all say they're just racing against Ferrari, McLaren, BMW, but you know that deep down inside,
13:23it's like teammates in a team, they're racing against each other.
13:27And I just can't help feeling that Honda, even though they're supposed to be impartial as the year progresses,
13:31if one of those teams starts to look like being superior, it's bound to get the most help.
13:37And how about Williams BMW? Brand new engine. Can they perform?
13:41I think that's going to be a tremendously strong combination this year.
13:44The new engine, lighter, more powerful, Michelin tires, that could be a very, very tough team.
13:49And two very, very good drivers.
13:51It'll be interesting to watch Juan Pablo Montoya.
13:53Now, two teams that won races in 1999 but suffered through horrible seasons last year are Jordan and Jaguar.
14:03You've got nothing if you don't have success.
14:06And the success of 1999 by winning races was very nice, but it was if you're matched by the failure of last year.
14:13In 2000, the Jordan team dropped from third place to sixth in the Constructors' Championship.
14:18This year, they'll step up to the same factory Honda engines as BAR.
14:23Nevertheless, the pressure is truly on Eddie Jordan's team.
14:27We have absolutely no excuses.
14:29They are the best in the business.
14:30And Jordan and Honda have to culminate together to make sure that we beat all comers.
14:38Heinz-Harold Frensen and Jarno Trulli return for their second year together.
14:42In 2000, the Jordan teammates combined for 19 DNFs in 17 races.
14:48Last year, I have to admit, it was very, very difficult.
14:52Especially when you have finished this 1999 season on third position as a driver and a Constructors' Championship.
14:58You go into the next season with big aims, big targets, estimation.
15:02My job last year was to complain a lot about what was wrong, and hopefully I was complaining about the right things.
15:12The other team that fell off from 1999 to 2000 was Jaguar.
15:17The team that started as Stuart Grand Prix has changed considerably over the past two years,
15:21and now they've hired Bobby Rahal to run the team.
15:24Yes, I think Bobby is the first-class man for the job.
15:27He's a racing driver, he's been a team owner, he's a businessman, he's enthusiastic, got a lot of energy,
15:33he's the right age to have the maturity to know what to do,
15:36while still young enough to have the enthusiasm to do those things.
15:40It's been just over two years since Rahal retired as a driver.
15:43But don't expect the boss to jump into the car, even if it were just for kicks.
15:48I think it would be kind of fun, but I don't know, I have to check my contract out.
15:52I'm sure there's some exclusion in there about that.
15:54As for the car that will be driven by Eddie Irvine and Luciano Burti this season,
15:59the gearbox casing will be magnesium, and the transmission will feature a separate lubrication system.
16:05The company line has been conservative.
16:07Rahal plans to concentrate more on the reliability of the new R2 than technical innovation.
16:13Well, David, I hear myself talking about pressure all the time.
16:16Eddie Jordan was looking for Honda factory engines for so long,
16:19now he's gotten them, perhaps when he least needs them, coming off a terrible season.
16:23Well, I tell you what, he has got some huge pressure,
16:26because the big thing about a Formula One team is you've got to have a factory engine.
16:29He's got his factory engine, and it's a Honda who've always won.
16:32Every time they've been to Formula One, they've always come out winning.
16:35So the pressure on him is absolutely enormous.
16:37But he has got a good team.
16:38He's lost some good people, but he's gained some good people.
16:40And, of course, he's still got two very good drivers.
16:43And I think Jano truly has still got to show his true worth.
16:46And how about Jaguar?
16:48Just when they need consistency, they make all of these off-season changes.
16:51Well, it just seems the most bizarre management team to me.
16:53Bobby Rahal comes in out of cart, doesn't know much about Formula One,
16:56and then right out of the ether, they pick Nicky Lauda to join him.
16:59We've got two champions there together.
17:02Recipe for disaster, I'd say.
17:04Well, perhaps they think it can't get any worse.
17:06Bobby Rahal was asking Australia if his team was going to be the disappointment of the season,
17:10and he said, after last year?
17:12Well, we're about to find out what happens.
17:14Now, so far, we've been talking about the teams we think will be running toward the front of the field.
17:18When we come back, a look at those teams who figure to be at the back.
17:21But so far this winter, some of those teams have been impressive,
17:24including one led by a four-time world-driving champion.
17:28Stay with us.
17:31...have dinner reservations this season.
17:33Malaysia joins Australia and Brazil in a season-opening tour of the Southern Hemisphere
17:37before the European portion of the season opens in mid-April at the San Marino event.
17:42Austria has taken Britain's May date of a year ago, while Monaco runs May 27th.
17:47The British race is back in July, and the crews will be ready when the new three-week break arrives
17:52following the German race later that month.
17:54And, of course, we all look forward to the second U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis September 30th.
17:59There are still seats available, but you better grab them.
18:02Contact the Speedway now.
18:04Okay, time now for the best of the rest.
18:06McLaren director Ron Dennis once sneered at off-season testing,
18:09calling it the Winter World Championship.
18:12So let's begin with this year's testing surprise, Prost.
18:15Over the three seasons of their existence, the Prost team has scored a total of 10 points
18:24and none at all in 2000.
18:27Jean Alessi was critical of last year's team, its car, and its engine.
18:31And his boss wasn't very happy either.
18:33I must admit that he could not feel very, very well last year, too.
18:37And not too many people felt very well in our team last year,
18:41so I must be honest, it's completely different now.
18:44But this year, Prost, with Alessi and Gaston Mazzucani as drivers,
18:48will use the Ferrari engine and gearbox that won both championships last year.
18:53New sponsorship from a computer maker means the cars will be called Prost Acer.
18:57If testing is any indication, the new driveline has revitalized the team.
19:02Alessi has been fast and has even broken the track record in Barcelona,
19:06though his time was achieved with a light fuel load and fresh tires in cool conditions late in the day.
19:11The Arrows will be driven by Jasper Stoppen and 22-year-old Brazilian Enrique Bernoldi.
19:20The team has abandoned the unique pull-rod suspension they used last year
19:25because, according to Verstappen, it gave poor feedback when the driver used the trackside curbing.
19:31Arrows is also experimenting with rear brake calipers mounted right below the upright.
19:35But all the innovation in the world will not help this team
19:38if the Peugeot engine, now called Asiatek, does not improve vastly over last year.
19:48The Sauber team, like Prost, will run year-old Ferrari engines
19:52for Nick Heidfeld and 21-year-old newcomer Kimi Raikkonen.
19:56Raikkonen from Finland will have to prove himself early.
19:59There's talk that his super license may be revoked
20:01if he looks to be out of his league in the first few races.
20:05Finally, there's Minardi.
20:10Australian Paul Stoddard, chairman of the European Aviation Group,
20:13fought the little Italian team in the off-season, saving it from certain extinction.
20:18The drivers will be Spaniard Fernando Alonso,
20:21who impressed in Formula 3000 last year,
20:23and Brazilian Tarso Marquez, who raced for Minardi in 1996 and 1997.
20:29The new PS01 chassis will have customer Ford engines that will be badged for Europeans.
20:34The schedule has been so tight that the team will have no spare chassis available
20:38until round two in Malaysia.
20:40So there you have it, the teams and drivers that will compete in the 2001 Formula One season.
20:46Now for our General Motors trivia question.
20:48Can you name the three drivers who were on pole for their first ever Grand Prix?
20:52Not including Giuseppe Fariña, who started from pole in the 1950 British Grand Prix,
20:57the first race of the modern era.
20:59We'll have the answer when we come back.
21:01Trivia question.
21:04The three drivers to start from pole in their first Grand Prix are
21:07Mario Andretti at the U.S. Grand Prix in 1968,
21:11Carlos Reutemann four years later in his home country of Argentina,
21:14and Jacques Villeneuve in Melbourne five short seasons ago.
21:18Now let's take a look at the events of the Australian weekend thus far.
21:22On Friday, Michael Schumacher lost control of his Ferrari
21:24and barrel rolled through a gravel trap.
21:26The world champion was unhurt and the car was fixed.
21:29The same for Luciano Burti as the Jaguar rookie overstepped the bounds of traction
21:34and tagged the trackside wall.
21:3616 cars beat last year's pole time in Saturday's morning practice.
21:42And when qualifying opened, Rubens Vitekello was the first of the big boys to grab provisional pole.
21:48Mika Hakkinen pushed his McLaren to the limit and beyond and briefly held pole position,
21:53while current Indy 500 champ Juan Montoya got his first taste of Grand Prix qualifying
21:58and finished as top rookie.
22:00Burti suffered his second crash in as many days, this one a much heavier accident, bringing out a brief red flag.
22:08Finally, rebounding from his Friday shunt, Michael Schumacher powered his Ferrari to the pole position,
22:14the 33rd of his career, tying him for second on the all-time list with Alain Cross and the late Jimmy Clark with his 33rd.
22:21And that wraps up our Speed Vision preview of the 2001 Formula One season.
22:26Except to say we apologize for the prolonged mystery regarding whether or not we were going to be able to bring you Grand Prix racing.
22:33We're proud to say Speed Vision is the exclusive home of Formula One here in the United States,
22:37and the season begins right now.
22:39The end.
22:40The end.
22:40The end.
22:41It is the end.
22:42It is the end.
22:42The end.
22:43The end.
22:44It is the end.
22:45It is the end.
22:46sizing on the all-time list.
22:48The end.
22:49It is a cover.
22:51A cover.
22:52Well, sorry.
22:53I will give you something so.
22:54Second.
22:54There you go.
22:56So, just.
22:56There you go.
22:57The end.
22:57No one is third.
22:58The end.
22:58There you go.
23:00ê·¸ë¦¬ê³ their backs can be Jack to the end.
23:02The end.
23:03It is the end of the end.
23:04.
23:04And now we're going to be Jack to the end.
23:05Now we're going to follow him while.
23:07Bye everybody's gonna be Frank a short,
23:09and we're going to Davon the kurt.
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