ATLAS F1 - THE JOURNAL OF FORMULA ONE MOTORSPORT
Australian GP Facts, Stats and Memoirs

By Marcel Schot, Netherlands
Atlas F1 Magazine Writer



The Australian Grand Prix opens the 54th Formula One World Championship this weekend, as Melbourne hosts the opening round for the eighth consecutive season.

The most spectacular race held in Melbourne was by far the first held in the city, in 1996. After Eddie Irvine had left Jordan to become Michael Schumacher's teammate at Ferrari, Jordan hired the experienced Martin Brundle to partner Rubens Barrichello. During the weekend Barrichello had been quite a bit faster than Brundle, which resulted in the Brazilian qualifying eighth, while his teammate only managed 19th on the grid, leaving only Ligier driver Pedro Diniz and both Fortis behind him.

In the sprint to the first corner, Ligier's Olivier Panis was considerably faster than Barrichello. However, the Jordan driver was succesfully able to fend off his opponent by forcing him towards the wall. The result was that Panis had to brake hard, blocking David Coulthard. Unfortunately, Martin Brundle had just entered the gap between Johnny Herbert and Coulthard after a superb start.

Martin Brundle, Jordan, 1996As Coulthard moved away from Panis to avoid a crash, Brundle was squeezed between the rear tyres of Coulthard and Herbert. The friction of the wheels launched the Jordan up into the air and over the McLaren and Sauber into the gravel-trap. The yellow car spun end over end, and on its final landing appeared to have completely disintegrated.

Obviously the worst was feared, but when the dust had risen, the monocoque was intact and separated from the rest of the car. Much to everyone's surprise, Brundle climbed out of the car and unbelievably made his way back to the pits on a run. But, to be able to take part in the restart of the race, Brundle needed the permission of Formula One's medical director, Prof. Sid Watkins. So Brundle, still wearing his helmet, ran through the pitlane and then back again, looking for Watkins. And, as Watkins saw Brundle running full speed towards him - helmet and all - the professor was convinced the Briton was in excellent shape and allowed him to board the spare car for the restart.

2003 brings with it several rule changes, perhaps the most radical is the new qualifying format. The last time qualifying was changed was in 1996, when qualifying changed from two sessions to just one. The basic thought was about the same as it is now: to give the driver less time to achieve a result. However, looking at the 12 drivers who participated in both seasons, it's hard to tell a difference - half of them improved and half didn't. Besides, many of the drivers switched teams, which is likely to be a major performance factor.

Of those drivers who stayed with the same team for both 1995 and 1996, Rubens Barrichello, Damon Hill and Mika Salo improved, while Olivier Panis and Heinz Harald Frentzen didn't. However, the overall impact was rather minimal. Salo made the biggest improvement, with an improvement of 1.1 grid positions, whereas Panis lost out the most, with an average position 0.8 positions back. Pedro Diniz obviously moved further up the grid, but that was clearly due to his move from the failing Forti team to Ligier.

                     1995              |        1996             
              Avg. Best Worst Team     | Avg. Best Worst Team    
Alesi          5.1   2    10  Ferrari  |  4.9   3     9  Benetton
Berger         4.2   1     8  Ferrari  |  5.8   2     8  Benetton
Barrichello    9.5   5    16  Jordan   |  8.1   2    13  Jordan  
Irvine         7.6   4    12  Jordan   |  7.9   3    22  Ferrari 
Coulthard      2.6   1     6  Williams |  8.3   4    14  McLaren 
Hill           2.5   1     8  Williams |  1.4   1     2  Williams
Diniz         22.8  20    26  Forti    | 16.4  11    22  Ligier  
Frentzen      10.4   5    14  Sauber   | 10.6   7    13  Sauber  
Herbert        7.4   4    11  Benetton | 12.9   8    17  Sauber  
M.Schumacher   2.9   1    16  Benetton |  2.6   1     4  Ferrari 
Panis         11.6   6    18  Ligier   | 12.4   8    16  Ligier  
Salo          14.4   7    23  Tyrrell  | 13.3   8    17  Tyrrell 

Not only the rules have changed for 2003, but also the drivers. Two drivers make their return to Formula One after a year's absence. Experienced Dutchman Jos Verstappen returns to action with Minardi, while young gun Fernando Alonso will drive for Renault. Furthermore, there are four drivers set to make their Formula One debut at Albert Park. However, they have reached Formula One via very different roads.

Toyota's Cristiano da Matta comes as the most experienced driver of the quartet. After having won the Brazilian Formula Ford and Formula Three championships in 1993 and 1994 respectively, da Matta came to Europe where he tried British Formula Three and Formula 3000 with little success. The Brazilian decided to try his luck in the United States. The choice appeared to be a good one, as he won the Indy Lights title in 1998 and climbed the ranks in CART in the following year, ending his American adventure by winning the CART Championship last season.

Justin Wilson took the traditional road with a twist. After karting, the Briton drove Formula Vauxhall for a few seasons with good success. After that came a sidestep to Formula Palmer Audi in 1998 where he swept the floor with the competition. With 9 wins, 4 poles and 10 fastest laps Wilson was the clear champion. After that he went to Formula 3000, where he won the 2001 title. Formula One seemed a logical next step, but with no seats available, Wilson made another sidestep from the traditional path. A season in the Telefonica World Series made sure he stayed in shape and in view.

The traditional path with no sidesteps was taken by Antonio Pizzonia - karting, British Formula Vauxhall, British Formula Renault, British Formula Three, Formula 3000. Pizzonia has one big advantage over his fellow rookies: he was one of Williams's test drivers in the past season, so he knows the ins and outs of the cars and will need less time to adjust.

New Jordan driver Ralph Firman has been out of sight for the most part. After two successful years in British Formula Three, he moved to Formula Nippon in 1997. After six relatively succesful years in the land of the rising sun - where he won the title last season - he now makes his first appearance in the International limelight.

So with new rules and new drivers, 2003 already promises to be a truly unique season.

 
Email to Friend

Print Version

Download in PDF


Volume 9, Issue 10
March 5th 2003

Articles

Giancarlo Fisichella: Through the Visor
by Giancarlo Fisichella

Guide to the Perplexed: The 2003 Changes
by David Cameron

For the Rekord
by Thomas O'Keefe

Australian GP Preview

2003 Australian GP Preview
by Craig Scarborough

Australian GP Facts & Stats
by Marcel Schot

2003 SuperStats: Winter Testing Wrap-Up
by David Wright

Columns

The 'New Formula' Trivia Quiz
by Marcel Borsboom

The Fuel Stop
by Reginald Kincaid

Bookworm Special
by Mark Glendenning

On the Road
by Garry Martin

Elsewhere in Racing
by David Wright & Mark Alan Jones

The Weekly Grapevine
by Tom Keeble



  Contact the Author
Contact the Editor

  Find More Articles by this Author



   > Homepage
   > Magazine
   > News Service
   > Grapevine
   > Photo Gallery
   > My Atlas
   > Bulletin Board
   > Chat Room
   > Bet Your Nuts
   > Shop @ Atlas
   > Search Archive
   > FORIX
   > Help


© 1995-2005 Kaizar.Com, Inc. . This service is provided under the Atlas F1 terms and conditions.
Please Contact Us for permission to republish this or any other material from Atlas F1.