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Saturday, March 3
Schumacher, Ferrari reign in opener
Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) – World champion Michael Schumacher
led from start to finish Sunday to win an Australian Grand Prix
marred by the death of a track marshal and injuries to seven
spectators during a fifth-lap crash.
|  | | Michael Schumacher won the season-opening Formula One race for the second straight year, taking his fifth straight checkered flag. |
Schumacher continued the Ferrari dominance established last year
by holding off the second-place McLaren of David Coulthard by 1.7
seconds in the opening race of the Formula One season.
The marshal, from Queensland state, was killed during a crash
between Jacques Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher. Last September at
the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, 33-year-old Paolo Ghislimberti, a
volunteer track official, was killed when hit by flying debris
after a five-car crash at the race.
It was the second death at a major race in two weeks. NASCAR
great Dale Earnhardt was killed in a final-lap crash at the Daytona
500 on Feb. 18.
A somber Schumacher announced the death of the marshal,
identified only as a man in his 50s, at his post-race news
conference. Initial reports said the marshal was severely injured
when hit by one of the tires that flew off Villeneuve's car, and
died later in the hospital.
Race official Peter Hansen said seven other people sustained
minor injuries and were treated at a first aid post and discharged.
Hansen said the marshal's daughter was at the track.
"Unfortunately, we have just been told of the marshal's
death," Michael Schumacher. "We are all shocked about this. We
need to look from our side to see what kind of support we can give
but certainly everybody is very much down."
Schumacher's winning time was 1 hour, 38 minutes, 26.533
seconds, an average speed of 115.718 mph.
He got a good start on the 3.29-mile Albert Park temporary road
course and held a 1.33-second lead over McLaren rival Mika Hakkinen
after two laps.
But Hakkinen, the 1998 winner, went out of the race on lap 26 of
the 59-lap race when his McLaren spun out of control after an
apparent mechanical failure and hit the wall. Hakkinen was checked
for a concussion but was cleared of any other injuries.
With Hakkinen gone, Schumacher's lead increased to more than 10
seconds over Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello in second place.
Coulthard passed Barrichello on lap 33, but by that point,
Schumacher had increased his lead to more than 15 seconds. He
relinquished the lead briefly when he pitted on lap 37 ahead of
Coulthard and after both had made pit stops Schumacher held an
eight-second lead.
Coulthard chipped away at Schumacher's lead late in the race but
the German held on for his second consecutive win in Australia.
Barrichello was third and Villeneuve's teammate Olivier Panis
was fourth.
In the accident, Villeneuve's BAR Honda rode up the back of the
Williams of Ralf Schumacher. The impact threw Villeneuve's car into
the air, hitting the top of the fence and nearly catapulting it
over into spectators.
Villeneuve's car lost all four wheels before hurtling down the
concrete barrier, spewing parts of his car along the way.
"Ralf was in the center of the track and I didn't know which
way he was going to go," said Villeneuve. "By the time I went to
the outside, it was too late."
Ralf Schumacher said he was surprised to have been rammed from
behind.
"I just braked into turn 4 and all of a sudden I was KO'd up
the back. I don't think Jacques knew which way he was going to go
and he just crashed into me."
"It was a mistake that can happen. I just wanted to make sure
that we both got out of there unhurt."
Ralf Schumacher extended his sympathy to the family of the dead
marshal.
"I am awfully sorry that a man who was looking after our safety
was killed today," said Ralf Schumacher. "My deepest sympathy
goes out to his relatives and friends."
Formula One rookie Juan Pablo Montoya, making the switch from
the IndyCar series, retired from the race with engine failure on
lap 40.
Michael Schumacher, in his 10th season, now has 45 career wins
and needs just seven more to break the Formula One record of 51
held by Alain Prost.
He's also edging closer to the nine consecutive wins recorded by
Italian Alberto Ascari in the 1952-53 seasons. The five wins in a
row ties him for second overall with three other drivers --
Australian Jack Brabham in 1960, Britain's Jim Clark in 1965 and
Nigel Mansell of Britain in 1992.
It is also his 15th career win from the pole position, a mark
held by Ayrton Senna with 29. Michael Schumacher won the last four
races of 2000, all of them from pole position.
The result also continues the Formula One domination held by
Ferrari or McLaren. Since the end of the 1997 season, only four of
50 races have been won by teams from outside the big two -- Jordan
has three of them (Belgium 1998 and France and Italy in 1999) while
Stewart has the other -- the 1999 European Grand Prix.
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